


Carrying the Banner//Modern Day Newsies

by seaturtle00



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Betrayal, Bullying, Child Abuse, Chrulmer, Complete, Completed, Crelmer, Delancy brothers - Freeform, F/F, Fights, Fluff, High School, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Newsies: A Broadway Musical, Spromeo - Freeform, Sweet, hurt character, javid - Freeform, mad crutchie, newsbians, sprace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 54
Words: 39,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27409303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seaturtle00/pseuds/seaturtle00
Summary: Welcome to the World Highschool. This is in the POV of mostly Crutchie, Jack, and Davey. Watch as they struggle through highschool and its challenges. (Plus an extra challenge not many other highschoolers face)I don’t own any characters or photos in thisPLEASE TELL ME IF I AM MISSING ANY TRIGGER WARNINGS IN ANY CHAPTERS
Relationships: Crutchie & David Jacobs, Crutchie & Jack Kelly, Crutchie/Elmer (Newsies), David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Romeo/Specs (Newsies), Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon & Crutchie, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. Cast

This is just so you know what everyone looks like, so I'm not confusing anyone (im gonna say who they are played by so thats how they look)

Jack: Jeremy Jordan

Davey: Ben Fankhauser

Crutchie: Andrew Keenan-Bolger

Katherine: Kara Lindsey

Race: Ben Cook

Spot: Tommy Bracco

Specs: Ryan Steele

Elmer: Anthony Zas

Albert: Sky Flaherty

Romeo: Andy Richardson

Finch: Iain Young

Les: Ethan Steiner

Sarah: Ele Keats

Medda: Aisha de Haas

Pulitzer: Steve Blanchard

Denton: Bill Pullman


	2. First Day of Hell

TW: Swearing

Jack POV  
I woke up to the alarm. Blaring. Right. In. My. Ear. I angrily hit the snooze button, and threw the covers off of me.

"GET YOUR ASS UP, COWBOY!" I heard Racetrack yell through my door.

"I'm ALREADY UP RACE!" I yelled back. I sat up, blinking sleep out of my eyes. I grabbed a blue flannel, a vest, and a newsboy cap and put them on, deciding that was good for the first day. I walked outside my room and down the hall. I sat down at the kitchen table, while Race was finishing up his summer reading.

"You boy's ready for the first day?" Medda asked, setting down some scrambled eggs.

"Yes Miss Medda," I answered while Race just nodded his head. Race and I were both adopted by Medda, and she happened to be our theatre teacher. Once I finished, I shoved my books in my bag and walked outside the apartment complex. Race and I talked as we walked to school for our junior year. Once on the campus, we heard our names being called. Looking over I saw our friend group.

Race and I walked over to them.

"Hey Jack! Hey Race!" Crutchie smiled at us. I smiled back and sat down next to Albert and Kathrine. Race sat down next to Romeo and was on the other side of Albert. Everyone in our group had known each other since 8th grade. The group consisted of Crutchie, Katherine, Race, Spot, Albert, Elmer, Specs, Romeo, Finch, and me. We were a tight knit group of friends, but also welcome others.

"Are you guys gonna sign up for the Newspaper Club?" Spot, the short football captain, asked.

"Duh,"  
"For sure."  
"Is that even a question?" And a lot of nods were an answer. I was about to start another conversation when the bell rang. We all got up and said our goodbyes, making our way to first period. I walked with Crutchie and Elmer to math. Once we sat down in our seats I noticed someone new walk in.

David POV  
I walked into my first period, math. I pushed away my worrying thoughts, like if people would care that I'm bi or not. I breathed a small sigh of relief that not all the seats were taken. I also notice three boys staring at me with interest. All three had on newsboy caps, Odd. I thought. I also noticed how tough the looked, which scared me a little. I gulped silently and decided to sit a little away from them.

"Welcome to Math!" The teacher started. They sounded like a fun teach, and I hot a little excited for their classes. "Today is just a fun day to get to know each other. For this I will give you a list of names, and you need to find out everyone's name. BUT you cannot talk during this. You are allowed to do charades or use sign language, but your just not allowed to speak." The teacher finished with a nod, and people started off. I walked around to a few people and spelled my name in the air, even thought I knew the sign language alphabet. I knew most people would not know it, so I opted for my plan B.

One of the three boys approached me. He had black, kind of curly hair, and an open vest on. He also had what looked like a bandana tied to his forehead. He motioned to himself then started to spell out in the air. E L M E R. I looked at my paper and checked it off, still a little wary of him. I realized he would need my name and did the same thing. He went back to one of the people wearing a newsboy cap, who hadn't gotten out of his seat yet, and scribbled on his paper. While I was focused on them, I didn't notice a boy walk up to me until he tapped my shoulder. He was a buff guy with black hair, a blue flannel, closed vest, and newsboy cap. Oh shit.

A/N: Welcome to my FanFic, I'm actually moderately proud of it so far.


	3. New Kid in Town

TW: 'Crip' Used as a Slurr

Jack POV  
I tapped the new kids shoulder lightly. He spun around and looked at me with... fear? I chuckled silently and wrote on a paper 'you dont have to be scared. i'm jack.' The kid seemed to calm down a tiny bit and wrote 'I'm David.' I was about to write something else down when the teacher yelled,

"Okay everyone time is up! Come put your papers in the tray and you have the rest of the period to talk with each other." I smiled and turned to David.

"So I take it your new here?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yep, but hopefully this will be my last school before college." I noted it sounded like he moved around a lot.

"You can say no, but I was wonderin if ya wanted to eat lunch with me and my friends?" I asked. David seemed to think it over for a second then nodded, smiling.

"I would love to!" I smiled too and looked at the clock.

"Bells 'bout to ring. I'll see you at lunch." I said to David, who nodded. I went back over to the cluster of desks with Elmer and Crutchie.

"So is he joining us?!" Crutchie and Elmer asked at the same time, dissolving into a fit of giggles after. I smiled fondly.

"Yeah he is."

Crutchie POV  
I clapped my hands together. I was excited the new boy was sitting with us, for he seemed nice. We chatted a little bit longer until the bell rang. I walked out last, having to grab my crutch as well as my other things. Jack and Elmer had offered to help but I declined.

I walked outside and towards my next class, english. I was nearing it when I heard voices. I knew exactly whose.

"Hey there, crip." At this, I tried to speed up. I felt a hand roughly grab my arm, spinning me around. I came face to face with Oscar and Morris Delancy.

"Thought you would get away?!" Morris spat at me. I felt fear take a hold of me as I stiffened. Morris drew his fist back and-

"Boys?" I almost smiled with relief as a teacher walked over to us. Oscar growled and let me go.

"This isn't over crip!" He snarled at me. I was barely able to hear, so I knew the teacher didn't. Him and Morris stalked away. I thanked the teacher and made it into english. English was mostly just getting to know each other games. Once the bell rang I sprinted towards the cafeteria. When I got to our table Race, Specs, and Elmer were already there. I sat down next to Elmer and where Spot would sit. People trickled in and soon we were just waiting for Jack and the new kid.

I looked over and saw Jack walking into the cafeteria with the new kid, who looked nervous. It looked like the poor guys head was spinning. Jack sat down next to Kathrine and patted the other seat for the new kid.

"Hey everyone, this is Davey, he's new and I thought he could eat with us." Jack said. Everyone nodded. "Davey this is Kathrine, Specs, Spot, Crutchie, Elmer, Finch, Romeo, Race, and Albert." Jack pointed to us in turn. When he said my name I smiled, and I saw Davey had a confused look. Once Jack finished I spoke up.

"By the way, they call me Crutchie because of this." I said, holding up the crutch so he could see it. I saw a little bit of pity in his eyes, that made me annoyed. Other than that it was mostly just understanding. We talked for a little, just to get to know the new kid.

"What clubs are you gonna sign up for?" Spot asked Davey.

"Oh uhh, what clubs are there?" Davey asked.

"GSA,"  
"STEM Club,"  
"4H, for some reason,"  
"Volleyball Club, 'cause we don't have a real team."  
"Book Club,"  
"Experiment Club, they pretty much just do science experiments."  
"And the best of all, Newspaper Club." Elmer finished off.

"All of us are in Newspaper Club." Katherine said. Davey nodded and looked like he was thinking it over. He smiled and looked around.

"I do like writing news,"


	4. The Famous Newspaper Club

TW: Cussing

Davey POV  
Everyone smiled at me.

"I do have a quick question, this isn't about clubs just about you guys." I said. They all looked at me. "I was just wondering how you all felt about the LGBTQ+ community," I said. They all shot each other glances and I started to worry. What if they were homophobic or biphobic?

"Oh we ARE the LGBTQ+ community." Race said laughing. I must have looked as confused as I felt, for he started to explain.

He pointed to Jack and said, "Gay,"  
He pointed to Katherine, "Lesbian,"  
Specs, "Bi and ace,"  
Spot, "Gay,"  
Crutchie, "Pan,"  
Elmer, "Pan,"  
Finch, "Trans boy and gay,"  
Romeo, "Trans boy and omniromantic demisexual,"  
Albert, "Biromantic Grey-asexual,"  
He them pointed at himself, "Gay as -" he nodded to Spot and Finch. Once they saw the nod, Spot covered up Crutchie's ears and Finch covered up Elmer's. "Fuck." Race finished. Spot and Finch removed their hands as Elmer and Crutchie swatted them away. Everybody else was laughing and I joined in. Crutchie looked annoyed but still happy while Elmer was just laughing.

"Okay, then I should probably come out and say I'm bi." I said.

"Haha 'come out'," Albert snickered. The rest of the table joined in.

"I have a question about this group dynamic," I said once we have calmed down. "Crutchie and Elmer, are they the little brothers or..."

"Yes,"  
"Yes,"  
"Yeah,"  
"Pretty much,"  
"No,"  
"Not really,"  
"Duh,"  
"Totally."

They all said at the same time. Elmer and Crutchie were the only to deny it, which made it even more hilarious. Almost the whole table burst into laughter, excluding Crutchie and Elmer, who were just glaring at the others.

"We are NOT the little brothers!" Elmer said indignantly. Crutchie nodded, agreeing with him.

"Sure, and pigs fly." Jack countered.

Before anyone else could say anything else, the bell rang and the people at the table got up. I started walking to Spanish, and saw Spot walked up next to me.

"Spanish with Señor Jackson?" Spot asked and I nodded. We walked down the hallway towards class.

"So, do Crutchie and Elmer even know cuss words?" I asked.

"Oh no, we could never let that happen," Spot laughed. "If I ever hear one of them say it, I sure as hell am gonna faint," I laughed with him. We walked into spanish and I see Spot tense up, looking mad. I looked around, confused as Spot dragged me to a table in the middle.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"The Delancy brothers. Stupid pain in the asses." Spot growled. "Often like to pick on our group, for no reason." I nodded and immediately disliked them. "I recommend that if you see 'em, you either stay away or come near one of us." I nodded. Spanish was fun, we got to describe ourselves in, guess what, spanish.

After class Spot and I walked out.

"Wait, isn't sign up's next class?" I ask.

"Yeah, you'll see us at the Newspaper Club booth." Spot said, smiling. I smiled as well.

~~~Time skip to when the fourth period classes go to sign ups cause I just want to get to it~~~

I walked over to the cafeteria, where booths were set up and people were milling around. I saw Crutchie, Jack, Kathrine, and Finch near a booth. I made my way over.

"Hey Davey!" Jack yelled to me. I waved back.

"So do I just sign up?" I asked and they nodded. I wrote my name on a blank spot. Soon the whole gang had signed up.

"Okay everybody!" Principle Pulitzer called above the noise. "To your assigned rooms for your first-" he was cut off by the bell. It rang, letting people know it was time to go. "-meeting!" He finished. The gang shuffled and made it to room 103.

"Hello Newsies, I will be the teacher for this club, but I don't really care what is in the paper, as long as it's school appropriate. I am Mr. Denton, and you can ask me anything." Mr. Denton said. As soon as he finished, the room erupted in chatter about the different newspaper segments. I smiled, I think I'm going to like it here.


	5. Kicks and Make-up

TW: Use of 'Crip' as a Slurr, Use of 'F@ggot' as a Slurr, Abuse, Bruises, Crutchie the bean (queen) being hurt and sad

Crutchie POV  
I woke up to silence. Odd. I thought. My house is almost never silent. I got up and got dressed, grabbing my crutch. I hobbled over to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Once I got out I walked down the hallway, quickly and silently. I walked past the kitchen and checked the time, 7:38. I smiled. Maybe just this one day I didn-

"CRIP! GET OVER HERE!" I heard my father yell. I went faster to the door. I almost grabbed it until, a hand grabbed my arm, throwing me back. I landed on the wood floor with a thud. My crutch flew across the room, away from my reach. I grabbed the arm of a chair and started to get up.

My dad grabbed my collar then I could smell it. The alcohol. "You thought you could get away? HAHA!" He laughed in my face. He pulled his fist back and punched me in the face. The pain was instant, and I knew I would have to cover up a black eye with make-up today. He threw me to the ground. The wind was knocked out of me, and I couldn't move for a second. In that second he pounced, kicking me in the ribs and the good leg, while placing a foot on my chest.

"You will NEVER be anything more than a crippled f@ggot!" Was the last thing he said before walking back to his room. I laid there in a daze for what seemed like hours, but must have been only minutes. I sat up painfully and crawled over to my crutch. 7:53. Not too long today, but just as painful. I walked painfully over to the bathroom and covered up my eye with foundation, which was already starting to bruise.

I quietly limped out the door. And down the stairs. When I got to school, I plastered on a fake smile and limped over to the table we always sat at.

"Hey guys!" I said to the gang. Elmer, Albert, Romeo, and Davey were all at the table. I sat in his usual spot next to Elmer and where Spot would sit. "Whatcha talking about?" I asked. Romeo shrugged.

"Not much, just the Newspaper Club. And all the clubs in general. Apparently there are going to be new rules posted today during the clubs." Romeo looked a little angry, but I didn't ask about that. Jack and Race walked up to the table and sat at their respective spots. Spot walked up with Specs and Kathrine a few paces behind. Finally, Finch made a grand entrance by sling-shooting a blueberry at Spot's head, leading to a mad chase around the school.

Once everyone was at the table and calmed down, we chit-chatted. Suddenly, Specs perked up.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you'se guys, Romeo and I have an announcement." Romeo blushed at this. "We is dating." Everyone nodded and Romeo and Specs looks confused.

"You're not even surprised?!" Romeo asked.

"We have seen how you two act to each other, we knew at some point you'se would figure it out." Finch laughed. The rest of the table joined in. Gosh, I hope I wasn't that obvious with my crush. What if the other guys knew already? I shook the thoughts away.

Soon the bell rang, and I got up. Jack and I have the same first period today as well. I walked through the hallways with him. Right before we got into class he stopped me.

"Crutch, are you okay?" Oh great, the one question I did NOT want him to ask.

"Yeah, I'm perfect!" I lied through my teeth.

Jack POV  
I knew something was up. All the time at the table with the gang, Crutchie was tense. And when we walked though the halls he was wincing with every step. As though even his good leg hurt.

"Crutch, are you okay?" I asked, concern lacing my voice. I saw him smile and say,

"Yeah, I'm perfect!" I looked past his smiled and to his eyes. I noted that they didn't have the normal spark in them. I also noticed something a little more concerning. Smudged make-up.

A/N: I HATE DOING THIS TO MY BEAN BUT IT MOVES THE PLOT ALONG


	6. Heavy Talk and Theatre Time

TW: Bruises

Jack POV  
There was smudged make-up. Below his eye. I looked a tad closer and saw some purple a blue. A black eye. Before I could say anything, Crutchie walked into class. I decided to ask him about it after class.

~~~Time skip cause i dont want to write a boring class~~~

I walked out of class with Crutchie by my side. We walked in silence for a little.

"So what happened?" I asked.

"What?" He said, confused.

"What happened to your eye?" As I said that, he looked away. I stopped him. "Crutch. What happened to give a black eye?"

"I just fell... down the stairs once. My crutch hit my eye. I didn't want you to get worried so I covered it up." Crutchie said. I didn't need to see his face to know he was lying. "Look I have to go to class. I'll see you at lunch." He said, and hurried off. I sighed. Would I ever be able to get him to tell the truth?

Davey POV  
It's finally lunch time. I can't wait to see the gang and Jack. Wait. Why specifically Jack? Why did you say 'the gang AND Jack' brain? I continued to think about it as I walked in. But once I saw the gang, my worries blew away. I took up my seat next to Jack and Kathrine. Everyone was already at the table, and lunch antics were in full swing.

"Ten bucks says that Elm can't fit ten." Race bet. Spot and Finch both scoffed.

"Fifteen says he can fit more." Spot countered.

"Twenty that he can fit more than twenty." Finch retorted. The bet was on. Elmer started sticking the thick straws in him mouth. Over and over again.

"Nineteen, twenty, one more Elm and I get twenty-five bucks! Twenty-one! Hand it over boys!" Finch said proudly as Elmer started to choke a little. I laughed a little. The gang was so weird, but I loved it. I also saw Crutchie immediately go help Elmer and stop him from choking fully. I smiled to myself, wondering how the others in the gang hadn't noticed the two yet.

I felt Jack tense a little next to me and saw him looking at Crutchie. I squinted in suspicion.

"Hey, Jack? You good?" I whispered. Jack looked at me then nodded a little. I wasn't fully convinced but I also knew it wasn't my place to push.

Crutchie POV  
Once the bell rang, I got up from the table. I was about to leave when Jack stopped me, again.

"What do you need?" I asked, a littler irritated.

"I know you're lying. I know you didn't just fall down the stairs. Can you please tell me what really happened?!" Jack said, voice full of concern and a little anger. I sighed.

"I can't tell you. But please believe me when I say I'm fine." I said, looking at him. He slowly nodded, and I could tell he was still skeptical. I walked out of the doors and towards third period.

~~~Time Skippy~~~

Finally, fourth period. The best period of the day. Not only is it the last of the school day, but it's also theatre. I get to see the entire gang and some other friends. I also get to see Miss Medda. I walked into the auditorium and saw Albert, Katherine, and Specs already there. I walked over and we talked for a little until everyone was there.

"Okay class! Actors, please go to the left side and techies please go to the right!" Miss Medda called out. I said goodbye to everyone but Albert, who was a fellow techie. I walked over and immediately saw two people. One had an orange beanie and the other had bright, multi colored hair.

"Joan! Talyn!" I called out to them. They turned around and we met near the middle of the group.

"Hey Crutchie!" Talyn exclaimed excitedly. I smiled back at them and hobbled over.

"What have you decided to do this year? Sound, lights, costumes, make-up?" Joan asked me.

"Probably costumes or sound again. What about you guys?" I asked, nodding to Joan, Talyn, and Albert.

"I want to do make-up," Talyn responded.

"I'm probably gonna do lights," Albert said.

"I think I'll do costumes," Joan added. I nodded and smiled. Miss Medda soon stood on the stage again.

"Okay everyone! Now that you're acquainted, lets see what the play is going to be this year!"


	7. Chasing a Friend Across the Auditorium

TW: None that I know of (tell me if there ate any I missed)

Davey POV  
I eagerly looked up when Medda said that. I had just been talking to one guy named Thomas, and he was really nice.

"Dear Evan Hansen!" She called out. Immediately people started clapping and excitedly talking. "Auditions will be next week!" She said then got off the stage. I turned to where Thomas and Elmer were still talking.

"I'm going to try out for Evan, it'd be so fun to play!" Thomas said, geeking out.

"I think I'll go for just an ensemble role," Elmer said with a shrug.

"I want to be Jared," I said. We kept talking, mostly about the songs we would audition to. I was going to with Wait For It, from Hamilton. Thomas said he would probably do Michael In the Bathroom, from Be More Chill. Elmer decided on Freeze Your Brain, from Heathers.

I heard that Jack was auditioning for Larry Murphy with the song Dancing Through Life, from Wicked. I'll ask the rest of the gang what they are trying out with later. I decided. The rest of the class was just talking, and some new techies getting used to the equipment. This ended up with the curtains being suddenly closed, the lights going out, and feedback from the microphone many times.

I thought back to lunch. Jack seemed better, more relaxed. I was happy for him. His face looked better relaxed. Wait. What did I just say?!

"Davey? Why are you staring at Ja- Oh My GOD!" Elmer suddenly said, snapping me out of my trance. I looked at him and Thomas, confused as to why they were freaking out.

"What?" I asked.

"You were staring at Jack for like, five minutes." Thomas said. The realization of what they meant hit me like a bus.

"No, no. No. NO. No I do not!" I said defensively.

"Suuuuuuuurrrrrrreeeeeee," Elmer laughed. I shot him a glare. Suddenly remembering something, I smirked.

"I could say the same to you about Crutchie." I quipped. He blushed and started stuttering,

"Uh w-what? No, I- no. I don't. We are just good, good friends!" He countered. I raised an eyebrow and Thomas looked like he was going to explode with glee.

"Oh my goodness! I have two more ships!" He squealed happily. Elmer and I both shot him a glare.

"Agree that we never talk of this?"

"Agreed. Thomas what about you?" I questioned.

"Fiiiiiiiinnnnnnnneeeeeee," Thomas sighed a little sadly. "I won't tell anyone..." he paused and took a step away from us. "Except Joan!" Thomas said and sprinted away from us and towards Joan. This is how I ended up chasing Thomas around the auditorium for the entire rest of the period. Finally he gave up, well, more like Elmer blocked him and I tackled him to the ground. We both made sure he promised not to tell Joan or Talyn.

"Uh, are you guys okay?" Jack asked while walking up with Crutchie and Race. I nodded and let Thomas go. Thomas nodded too, still happy he had two more ships.

"Totally fine. I'm gonna go talk to my friends now. Bye!" Thomas said hurriedly and scurried off. I sighed in slight frustration.

"So what's was that abouts?" Race asked, eyeing Elmer and I. I shuffled my feet a little awkwardly, but Elmer jumped in.

"He said that Helpless was better than Burn. We argued against it, because Burn is WAY better, and I guess we got a little too threatening. He ran and we followed, us telling him Burn was better and him yelling at us that Helpless was." Elmer said easily. Crutchie snickered and Jack joined in after a second. I could see a faint blush on Elmer and I could bet that it was on my face too. Race looked a little more skeptical of our story but didn't push, at least for right now.

"You have a valid reason, Burn is much better." Crutchie agreed.

When fourth period ended, I met up with the rest of the gang near the auditorium doors. We walked over to room 103 and pushed the door open. I saw Mr. Denton looking at a piece of paper, frowning.

"Alright boys, and Katherine, please sit down. We need to go over the new rules Principle Pulitzer put up."

A/N: This was more of a filler to a more important chapter, just so ya know. Also I told you that the ship with Crutchie would rot your teeth out it was so sweet.


	8. Rules

TW: None that I know of (if there is some please tell me)

Jack POV  
I sat down at my desk in 103. Mr. Denton seemed either mad or stressed, I couldn't tell which. I had also managed to calm my anxiety about Crutchie, but agreeing that I would keep an eye on him.

"Alright boys, and Katherine, please sit down. We need to go over the new rules Principle Pulitzer put up." Mr. Denton sighed.

I could feel the tension rise in the room. I did snicker a little when I saw Romeo and Specs squeeze each others hands. I wish Davey and I could do that. Hold up. Rewind. WHAT?! Why would I think that? I don't have a crus- I have a crush on Davey! Fu-

"The new rules are: 1. Every club must pay a ten dollar fee per person for the club to stay a club." I noticed Katherine and Race looked the angriest of the bunch. I knew why for Katherine, but was still pondering Race's reason. 

"2. Everyone must come to every meeting, if more than two people are gone then the club is suspended for a week," Spot. Looked. FURIOUS. 

"Finally, 3. Every club must pay for their supplies, including books, paper, ink, and printing services." Mr. Denton finished, and for a second it was silent. Until everyone started yelling.

"That is so unfair to our club! We need the most materials!" Romeo growled. "STEM and Experiment club use free services to get their supplies and Volleyball club only has to but a few nets and balls for the year, while we'se gonna have to play for everything every week!"

"What about sports players! I can't miss some games!" Spot argued.

"Some people's might not be able to pay the ten dollars!" Katherine shouted.

"What about the bigger groups like us!? We are paying over 100 dollars!" I yelled.

"I understand these are bad, but they apply to all clubs starting tomorrow. Sports, the rules are a little more lenient. But we can't do anything about it." Mr. Denton sighed. People's anger faded into dejection and sadness.

By the time he finished, it was time to leave. The gang got up and walked out, the only people talking being Race and Spot talking together and Davey and Katherine whispering to each other. I got a sudden pang of jealousy that I couldn't place, so I shook my head to clear it.

Ms. Medda pulled up in her car and Race and I got in. We knew she knew about the rules, and Race and I didn't feel like talking about it.

Davey POV  
I walked into my house and almost slammed the door. I was sad but also seething at the same time. Is that possible? I guess the author is making me do it so it is now.

I walked to the table where Les was working on his homework.

"You okay David?" Les asked me. I looked at my little brother.

"Not really. I just learned about some stupid new rules that are going it affect our Newspaper Club badly. AND some of the rules almost seem to be directed at ONLY US!" I ranted. Les nodded, he was only in 7th grade but he still seemed to understand me.

"What are you going to do about it?" Les asked. I sighed dejectedly.

"We can't do anything. Especially not alone. Rules are rules."

"But people find ways to change rules all the time!"

"Like?"

"Wow, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." Les muttered under his breath, as I scowled at him. "Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights Movement, LGBTQIADP+ community, Latino Suffrage, heck the Revolutionary War!" Les finished exasperatedly.

"You're... actually right." I said.

"Are you implying I'm not usually?" He jokes.

"Definitely," I replied without missing a beat.

"I'm gonna soak you for that-" Les said, getting up from his seat.

"No need." I felt someone punch my arm and saw my twin Sarah walk in. "Done and done. Also what I say you do is comply with the rules for now, and brainstorm ways to go against them, without getting expelled of course," I nodded.

"That's another great idea. Wow who knew you two were actually smart!" I teased. I was met with two, hard, punches to the arm. "Ow..." They just laughed and went back to work. I had finished my homework and decided to ask the gang about Sarah's idea.


	9. Group Chat and Sadness

TW: Blood, Alcohol, 'Crip' Used as a Slurr, Abuse, 'F@ggot' Used as a Slurr, Crutch Bean being hurt

Nobodys POV

Group Name: The Newsiesssss

Davey: Hey guys!

LittleBrother1: Sup

JackBeNimble: helloooooooo

LesbianOfDoom: Hey!!!!

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: whys this my name?

SmallAndAngry: whoever made this my name I swear i will kill you

BetsAndRaces: so spots name is perfect for him

SmallAndAngry: WHAT?!?

WarbyParker: Race's got a point

Finch: youse names better than mine

LadiesLordsAndNon-BinaryRoyaltiesMan: mine is so looooooooooooooooooooooong

SmallAndAngry: CAN SOMEONE CHANGE MINE?!

LittleBrother2: No can do

LittleBrother2: Also why does crutchie get to be number 1!?

JackBeNimble: i think we need to sumhow shorten Romeos

Davey: Agreed.

JackBeNimble changed a name

WarbyParker: better ro?

TheFlirtingMenice: much

SmallAndAngry: IF SOMEONE DOESNT CHANGE IT I SWEAR-

LesbianOfDoom: here

LesbianOfDoom changed a name

KingOfBrooklyn: Finally! Ok what did ya need Davey?

Davey: Well I wanted to talk with you all about a plan my sister made up to figure out a plan on how to counteract the rules

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: ... wut

LittleBrother1: his sis came up with an idea to help us get an idea on how to stop the rules

Finch: Oooooooooooooooh

Davey: Yes, it would take a while to convey through text. I can bring my sister to our table tomorrow and she can explain it if you want.

JackeBeNimble: sure

KingOfBrooklyn: im down

LesbianOfDoom: yesssss i need another girl

WarbyParker: Shore!

BetsAndRaces: yup

LittleBrother2: WHY AM I NUMBER 2?!

Crutchie POV  
I clicked off my phone and focused on homework again. I was struggling with some of the spanish homework. I was always a math and science person, english and spanish bored me but were also hard. I sighed and gave up for now, deciding to scroll through my phone a little.

I was listening to a conspiracy theory video when I heard a sudden crash. It sounded like glass had broken. I quietly peeked my head out of my door and looked to the kitchen. My dad was leaned against the counter, blood trickling down it. He must have cut his hands on the glass.

I looked at what type of glass it was, and wasn't surprised when it turned out to be a liquor bottle. While I was looking at the bottle I didn't noticed my dad turn around and look at me. Without saying a word he charged at me. I yelped and slammed my door shut, locking it.

He started banging on it over and over and over again. It sounded like he was just punching it. He must have been REALLY mad. It would have been fine if not for my phone to start ringing. I checked the caller ID and groaned and panicked at the same time. Jack.

I always picked up for Jack, especially at this time which was around 4:30. He knew I didn't have anything to do, so I couldn't just hang up or not answer. I hesitantly picked up the phone and put to my ear.

"Hey?" I said.

"Hey Crutchie. What's that noise?" My hope that he wouldn't hear diminished.

"W-what noise?" I asked nervously, trying to play innocent.

"The banging." Jack sounded concerned.

"Oh, that's just the ice machine going." I lied. He didn't seem convinced.

"That does not sound like ice. Crutchie are you okay? Are you safe?" I could hear panic start to creep into his voice.

"I am sa-" I was cut off by my dad busting in my room. He had managed to break the lock. "I have to go Jack, bye." I said, hanging up before he could say anything else.

"Put that down. NOW!" My father bellowed and I obeyed. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and started dragging me down the hallway. Once we were in the living room he held me up near the wall. I clawed at his arm, trying to loosen his grip but it held on strong. "So you lousy crip. I almost got fired at work today, ya know why?"

I gulped and shook my head. This must have been the wrong answer for the rage in his eyes grew.

"BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU USELESS CRIPPLED F@GGOT! ALL YOU DO IS WEIGH PEOPLE LIKE ME DOWN!" He snarled. He started smashing me against the wall. I wasn't able to do anything but claw at his arm, which didn't help. Soon he hit my head on a small pipe on the wall. I started seeing stars and black dots on the edge of my vision.

By now I could also feel a thickish substance coming down the back of my head and... my face? He must have punched me as well. Everything started getting blurrier and blurrier until I couldn't see anything.


	10. The Plan

TW: Tiny bit of Implied Abuse

(This starts right after the group chat conversation ends)

Jack POV  
I turned my phone off, smiling. Those idiots. I finished my homework and got a snack. I decided to binge watch a TV show called Sherlock, that was actually super good. I got bored after a little and decided to call some friends. I knew Crutchie would be free right now, so I decided on him.

I clicked his contact and on the call icon. It rang a few times before he picked up.

"Hey?" He asked, sounding a little nervous. I heard a noise, like a sort of banging.

"Hey Crutchie. What's that noise?" I asked, suspicious.

"W-what noise?" He responded.

"The banging." I started to get a little more nervous as well. Was he okay?

"Oh, that's just the ice machine." I wasn't convinced. I had heard ice machine's before, and that ain't it.

"That does not sound like ice. Crutchie are you okay? Are you safe?" The banging seemed to get louder.

"I am sa-" Crutchie was cut off by what sounded like a door being slammed. I was about to say something, but he beat me to it. "I have to go Jack, bye."

"Crutch!? CRUTCHIE what is going on?!" I yelled at the phone, but he had already hung up. Miss Medda walked in on me yelling.

"Is everything okay Jack?" She asked. I shook my head.

"I was calling Crutchie and there was this banging, suddenly there was a slam and he hung up and I don't know if he's safe or not!" I said in one breath. I was on the verge of tears and was panicking. Medda sat down next to me and hugged me.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm sure he's fine." She said. It helped comfort me a little, but I was still nervous. "I don't think we can get to him now, he lives pretty far away. I'm sure whatever happened he'll be okay. Why don't you invite him over tomorrow, and we can see if we can squeeze any information out of him, yeah?" She asked.

I mulled it over, wishing I could get to him right now, then nodded. "Thanks Miss Medda,"

"Oh Jack, that's what mothers are for." She smiled comfortingly.

"Also, can I invite Davey over? I think he could help us with Crutchie." Medda nodded and got up, most likely to start cook. She liked to cook when she needed time to think, which neither Race nor I minded. I decided to go ahead and tell Race and Davey about the situation. I walked over to Race's room and knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" He asked and I walked in.

"I need help." I stated.

"Wow, the famous Jack Kelly needs help." Then he noticed my face. "What do you need?" He asked. I explained to him what happened with Crutchie on the phone.

"I am going to invite him and Davey over tomorrow, and we will try to get information out of him. Can you'se help? You know how to get things out of people." I said. Race nodded.

"You should probably tell Davey right now as well, just so he knows." Race advises. I agreed and called him, explaining everything again. Once he agreed to come over tomorrow I ended the call.

"I'm just so worried. What if it is somethin' super bad that we never realized?" I said fearfully.

"Yeah, but knowing Crutch he won't just tell us if we ask. We probably need to trick him a little to get it out. I mean he was being secretive with YOU! You'se his best friend!" Race said. As much as I hated tricking him, I agreed. We started to come up with a game plan.

"Oh I know! We could say we are playing a questions game where we have to answer questions as fast as possible, and then ask him "who hurts you?" And see the answer!" Race said. I had told him about the black eye as well, and I knew that that could not have come from falling. I nodded.

"Maybe after that he will open up." I sighed. Medda called us for dinner, and that dinner was silent. Usually we are talking but the threat of what happened to Crutchie seemed to hang over our heads.


	11. Late Nights and Angry Mornings

TW: None that I know of (please tell me any I missed)

Davey POV  
11:52  
After learning about what was happening with Crutchie, I couldn't really sleep. I decided to talk to Jack, who was still up as well.

Davey: Hey, what about school tomorrow?

Davey: Should we bring it up?

JackBeNimble: you shouldnt. i might just to let him know im here. he could open up then...

We both knew he wasn't going to. If anything that might make it worse, but I didn't say that.

Davey: So I guess just try to act normal, I'll bring Sarah as well and we can talk about the rules, maybe it'll get our minds off of it

JackBeNimble: yeah, well its pretty late i should go

JackBeNimble: gn

Davey: Goodnight

I turned off my phone a sighed. I was scared for Crutchie. I was scared of the rules. I was scared of what trying to stop the rules meant. I was really just scared in general.

Somehow, I managed to fall alseep, though it was restless. I woke up at 7:38, but still felt tired. I managed to make it through breakfast and out the door without being bothered that much. But then I had to walk to school with Sarah.

"Oh I saw this really pretty girl one day, but never got to talk to her. What about you? Have you told anyone about Jack yet?" She asked.

"I mean Elmer and a guy named Thomas found out, but I can blackmail Elmer with his crush." I responded half-heartedly.

"You don't seem okay, something on your mind?" She asked.

"I'm going to Jacks house later, not for that geeze, but to ask Crutchie somethings. Jack doesn't think he's okay." I said, she snickered after the first part. "Don't tell anyone though, and act like you never heard."

"My lips are sealed."

"Heya Davey!" I heard a yell. Looking up I saw Katherine, Spot, and Specs all at the table.

"Hey guys, this is my twin sister Sarah." I said, sitting down where I normally do. Sarah sat in Jacks spot, and I could see her looking at Katherine. I connected the dots that Katherine was the girl Sarah was talking about. Race, Jack, and Finch all came at the same time. Jack decided to pull his seat next to Crutchie's spot. Romeo announced himself before jumping into his seat, literally.

"So we need to comply at first, then we can figure out what to do. Like a strike or protest or rally or sit-in." Sarah explained. Once she finished everyone nodded. We only had about ten minutes left when Crutchie finally came, siting in his spot.

"Hey guys, sorry I was late." He said nonchalantly. We quickly explained to him the plan, then began to brainstorm what to do.

Jack POV  
Once everyone was distracted a snuck a glance at Crutchie. His eyes were glazed over, and he looked like he wasn't paying attention.

"Hey Crutch." I whispered, waving a hand in front of his face. His head snapped around to me. "You good? You kinda zoned out there."

"Just have a headache." He said. I nodded, then decided to be risky.

"So who hit your eye?"

"Drop it,"

"I just want to know if you're okay."

"Drop. It." He hissed. I was taken aback by his anger, he almost never got angry.

"No, I need you to be okay!"

"I said, DROP IT!" He said, louder this time. This got the attention of the table. They looked at us quizzically. Crutchie had started to grab his stuff.

"Where is you going?" Romeo asked.

"Away from you all." Crutchie hissed and hobbled away. Everyone looked around in shock. Spot then glared at me.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"Nothin'! I swear! I was just asking him something." I said, holding my hands up defensively. Spot grabbed his stuff and got up too.

"From what he said it obviously wasn't nothing." He growled and started off in the direction Crutchie went off to. I forgot how good Spot and Crutchie were of friends. I put my head in my hands. How am I going to get him over now?!

Spot POV (OoOo newwww)  
I raced down the hallway, looking for Crutchie. I walked past a side hall, when I noticed something. The Delancy Brothers.

A/N: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE SPOT AND CRUTCHIE FRIENDSHIP CAUSE I FEEL LIKE SPOT WOULD SEE CRUTCHIE AND JUST THINK "I MUST PROTECT"


	12. Somethings Up

TW: None that I know of (please tell me any tho)

Spot POV  
I noticed they seemed to be talking to someone. That person did not look like they were willingly talking with them. I cracked my knuckles and walked over to them, tapping Oscar on the shoulder.

"Get away or else." I snarled. He smirked a little, looking me up and down.

"Or else what little bo-" he was cut off by a punch to the gut. By me.

"Or else more of that."

"Let's go Morris, it's not worth out time... yet." I heard him add the last word while walking away. I turned to the person and my heart dropped a little.

"Hey Crutch. You good?"

"I'm fine. Thanks though," He responded. I noticed his voice didn't seem as cold as it did a little while ago.

"I'se wanted to talk to ya. Just wondering what Jack said." I said when I saw the defensive look in his eyes. He sighed then answered.

"I had a black-eye once, and Jack noticed. I kept telling him it was from me falling hut he never believed it. He kept bringing it up, and I told him to drop it. He didn't and I just got so annoyed." I nodded, it made sense (even if I didn't believe him either).

"I don't see no black-eye," I commented. He laughed dryly.

"Crazy what make-up can do." I nodded getting it. The bell rang then.

"Wanna walk togetha?" I asked. He nodded smiling. We started walking to his class, which was only a little away from mine. We talked about everything and nothing at the same time, if thats possible. I saw Jack walk towards us and glared. He stopped and walked into class, even though he still had it with Crutchie.

"See you at lunch." Crutchie said.

"See ya,"

Jack POV  
I sat down at our normal table with Elmer and the newly added Davey. I had seen Crutchie and Spot talking, and went to go talk with them, but after the glare Spot gave me I retreated.

"Was it my fault?" I heard someone barely whisper. I looked up to see Elmer the one who asked.

"What?! No no no. Trust me it wasn't yours Elm." I reassured him. He looked a little better and nodded. Davey gave me a mix of a sympathetic look and a hard glare. Just then Crutchie walked in. He sat at our table but didn't acknowledge us.

"Crutch I-" I started.

"Save your breath. I don't want to hear it." Crutchie cut me off. If I learned anything from the morning, it was to stop, so I did.

Davey POV  
I could tell something was up with Crutchie. I noticed it during math. Every few seconds he would shake his head, as if to shake himself awake. He would also be squinting at the board a lot, almost as if he needed to concentrate more.

Once class was over I walked to my next one. I met up with Specs and Albert while in there. It felt like forever as we waited for lunch. Finally the bell rang and we scrambled to get to the cafeteria. Once in I saw almost everyone at the table, minus Spot, Crutchie, and Finch.

I sat down in my normal space, Jack sitting next to my again. I would be lying if I said my heart didn't flutter a little. Sarah had pulled up a chair next to Katherine to make room for herself. Spot and Crutchie came in at the same time and sat down. Crutchie had a 'don't talk to me' look on his face. Spot looked angry, but mostly directed towards Jack.

The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. 

"Soooo.... any ideas 'bout the rules?" Race asked, breaking the silence. People started to bounce some around. A rally sounded like the most popular option.

"And we could have the other clubs and sports too!" Specs pointed out.

"And keep if after school so nobody misses classes," I add. Albert, Romeo, and Race groan a little at my comment.

"But I want an excuse away from english. It's so booooooooring." Romeo said, holding out the 'o'. I looked over at Crutchie and saw him shaking his head again. He still held a kind-of glazed over look in his eyes. Something had to have happened.


	13. Headaches and Head-shakes

TW: 'Crip' Used as Slurr,

Davey POV  
Once the bell rang, I got up. I started walking to Spanish, walking a little slower just in case. Spot walked beside me while we went. He seemed to have cooled off from lunch, luckily.

"Hey Spot?" He hummed in response to my question. "Why were you so mad at lunch?" Spot sighed a looked down.

"I am annoyed at Jack. He made Crutchie mad, which in turn makes me mad." He explained.

"Are you and Crutchie close?" I pondered.

"I'd say after Jack, I'm his best friend." Spot said with a, rare, fond smile. I don't think I had ever seen Spot smile, and I know I've only known him for three days, but still most people smile in three days. I nodded, smiling a little as well. "Though, I is nervous about 'im."

"Jack?"

"What! No, Crutchie. He was all spaced-out today. And 'e kept shakin' his head."

"I noticed that too! And in math, he kept squinting at the board like he couldn't concertante." I added. We walked into Spanish, and Spot got angry again. "Delancy's?" I ask. He nods.

"I'se even more mad today, 'cause I found 'em almost attacking Crutchie." Spot whispered angrily at me. Apparently we were a little loud, because the Delancy's turned around as we walked by.

"Ah, the shorty again." Morris growled. Spot balled up his fists and took a step forward. I held him back and started pulling him to our seats.

"Oo, someone is mad. Is it because of that crip?" Oscar called out, laughing with Morris. I ignored them, but Spot just became angrier.

"Don't let them get to your head." I whispered to him. He calmed down a little, but still seemed to be seething through all of Spanish.

Crutchie POV  
Today has been... weird. Jack got on my nerves, so I'm still annoyed at him. Luckily I can still talk with Spot. I've also been having trouble concentrating, and my head feels muddled. I've tried shaking it to clear it, but it doesn't help. And all day I've been having a splitting headache. It hurts so much, I really just want to lie down. But I can't.

"Hey, Crutch?" I hear a voice ask as I walk out of the cafeteria. I groan internally. Jacks's voice.

"What do you want?" I snap. He seemed a little shocked at me snapping.

"I was just wonderin' if ya wanted to come over to my place today. After school. It'd be you, me, Davey, and Race." He asks. He looks at my face and starts to plead a little. "I just wanna apologize, and have you not be mad at me." I sigh.

"Fine. But I'm still mad at you right now." I walked down the hallway to my next class. I could have sworn I heard him happily say something behind me, but couldn't make it out. I felt a little guilty being mad at him, but it was his fault.

~~~Timeskiperoooo~~~

I limped out of my fourth period and towards the door. Jack said either him, Race, or Davey would be there. Luckily, it was just Davey. I walked over and greeted him.

"Hey Davey." I said, not in much of a mood for conversation. The headache seemed to have gotten worse over the day. Now it was always a pain, and sometimes randomly, pains sharp as a knife would pierce my skull. Davey seemed to get the hint and just said hi. I noticed him watching me a little, and I only figured out why after a few minutes.

I was still shaking my head, trying to figure out my thoughts. I didn't even notice when Race and Jack had gotten here until Race tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped a little at his touch, an involuntary reaction. He seemed concerned about it, but didn't say anything. Once Medda had pulled her car around, we all piled in.

On the way there, a sharp pain exploded in my brain. I held in a gasp, and resorted to touching my temple with my hand. Hopefully, nobody noticed it. Once we made it to Miss Medda's place, we all sat on the couch, not really sure what to say. This was going to be interesting.


	14. A Game With a Bad Ending

TW:

Jack POV  
This is it. This is hopefully when we will figure out what is happening with Crutchie.

"First off," I started. "I'm really sorry Crutch. I shouldn't have pushed ya." I looked him in the eyes. Crutchie smiled a little.

"It's fine ya doof. Just don't do it again. Now, what are we gonna do?" He asked, looking around and looking a little like his old self. Race chuckled a little and so did David.

"How about we just do a question game?" Race suggested. Step one, complete. Crutchie and David nodded in agreement. "I'se knows one. Its just a rapid fire game were you'se answer questions as fast as you can. Once you'se get it wrong, it goes onto the next person." Step two, done.

"I can start by being asked, if you want." Davey said. We all nodded. I started rapidly asking him questions and he, somehow, answered. Finally, he got one wrong. "Why don't you try it Crutchie." Davey said. Crutchie shrugged and nodded. Race started asking him questions.

"Favorite color?"  
"Blue."  
"2-15?"  
"-13,"  
"Name a fast food!"  
"McDonalds." After Crutchie answered, Race gave me and Davey a small nod. He was going to ask the question now.  
"Who hurts you?" Crutchie was about to answer, when he suddenly grabbed his head, yelping a little in pain. Oh no.

"Crutch? Are you okay?" I asked, getting a little closer. His eyes seemed glazed at first, but then started to sharpen. The one emotion in them was anger.

"So that's all this was, huh? To get information out of me! You probably didn't even mean that apology!" Crutchie glared at me. I felt so guilty, and I knew Race and Davey did too. "And you two were in on it! I thought you were going to let me live my life when I told you I was fine. I was glad you invited me over just so we could hang out! BUT NO! This was all to get information out of me. I'm done." He said, shaking his head and glaring daggers at all of us.

"Crut-"

"Don't." He said coldly at Davey's attempt to speak to him. He grabbed his crutch and walked out of the apartment. Medda walked in then, and noticed Crutchie was gone.

"What happened? Did it work?" She asked us. Race finally shook his head.

"He figured it out and was mad. Really mad." Race sounded so dejected. Medda walked over and hugged all of us. This is really when it set in. We had screwed up big time. Davey seemed to be frozen, not really moving. Once Medda got up to grab us something to eat, I sat down next to him. I put an arm around his shoulders and ignored the flutter in my stomach.

"Hey, it ain't your fault." I whispered.

"But it is. It's all of ours fault! We pushed him and he wasn't ready. We didn't even get to learn what pain stopped him from answering the question." Davey sighed. I pulled him into a hug and we sat there for a little, mostly thinking about how we screwed up.

Crutchie POV  
Betrayal. That's all I felt as I walked home. My friends, well I wouldn't call them friends anymore, only apologized and invited me over to get information out of me. 

I angrily kicked a rock on the sidewalk. They didn't even care that I wasn't ready to talk! I though exasperatedly. They just went on with it, without even asking me if I was ready to talk. Once I got home I walked to my room and just laid on my bed, angry. I remembered one person, who didn't betray me and who I could talk to. Spot.

LittleBrother1: Hey Spot

KingOfBrooklyn: hey crutchie

KingOfBrooklyn: wait, arnt you supposed to be with race, jack, and davey rn?

LittleBrother1: I dont want to think about them right now

KingOfBrooklyn: what did they do

LittleBrother1: Turns out they only invited me to fake apologize and get information out of me

KingOfBrooklyn: ...

LittleBrother1: Spot?

KingOfBrooklyn: im going to kill them

LittleBrother1: Spot, im glad for that, but please dont tomorrow. Im already super mad at them

KingOfBrooklyn: ... fine.

KingOfBrooklyn: BUT am i allowed to be angry at them as well?

LittleBrother1: Sure, be as mad as you want

KingOfBrooklyn: good to know

KingOfBrooklyn: also remind me to stay on your good side


	15. Fault

TW:

Nobody POV

Group name: The Newsiesssss

Davey added Unknown Number

Davey: Hey guys, I added Sarah so we could talk about the rally

LesbianOfDoom changed a name

LesbianOfDoom: like your new name?

LesbianOfDemise: YES

LittleBrother2: i still don't understand why crutchie gets to be number 1

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: elmer, let it go

WarbyParker: Race, I swear youd better not

BetsAndRaces: do whattttttttttt

BetsAndRaces: 😏

JackBeNimble: race no

LittlerBrother2: Race no

WarbyParker: Race, no

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: race no

FlirtingMenice: race no

Finch: race no

BetsAndRaces: fineeee i wont

Davey: Anyways, are we agreed on the idea of a rally with all the clubs and sports?

FlirtingMenice: i like that idea

JackBeNimble: yeah and Medda said she would let us use the auditorium for it since its technically her classroom

WarbyParker: Perfect!

LittleBrother2: i like it

LesbianOfDemise: Great! Maybe we can talk about it more tomorrow, yeah?

LesbianOfDoom: Yep!

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: see ya there

Jack POV  
I sighed after turning my phone off. Neither Crutchie nor Spot said anything during it. I guess I should just hope for the best tomorrow.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

I walked out of the house with Race right behind me.

"Do you think Crutchie's gonna be there?" Race asked. I slowly nodded.

"I don't think he's gonna bail on planning something as big as this rally," I declared in response. "And I don't think Spot would miss it either." I knew about Race's crush on Spot, especially after how much he fretted that Spot was going to hate him for what happened to Crutchie. Race blushed a little and shoved me away.

Once we walked into the schools front yard thing, I don't know what else to call it than a front yard, I searched our table. Finch, Katherine, Davey, Sarah, Specs, Albert, Elmer, and Romeo. No Spot or Crutchie. Most faces were worried, Elmer's being the most prominent. Race and I sat down at our seats, and were met with a lot of silence.

"So we should probably get to planning." Sarah said, breaking that silence. I nodded and looked around to see most everyone nodding with me.

"It definitely need to be after school, so nobody misses classes," Davey said, earning a glare from Race and Albert, to which he glared by mockingly. 

"I asked around a little, about who would come to this rally. Almost everyone asked what the football team was doing. The only team that said 'yes' without asking was the girls soccer." Romeo added. The football team was the most popular and powerful club/sport in school. I laughed a little, course girls soccer didn't care about the football. They were enemies to the football and the boys soccer team.

"So if we convince football to join we have all of the teams? Where is Spot now?" Finch asked. Davey, Race, and I all looked around a little guiltily.

"I guess we have to wait till lunch to ask, unless he doesn't show up then either." Elmer sighed. Albert looked a little annoyed at him.

"You'se been being such a downer all of today!" He said angrily.

"I'm sorry I'm worried about why both Crutchie and Spot didn't sit at our table!" Elmer shot back. Race looked a little confused.

"Wait, did any of you'se see 'em?" Race asked, looking around. Specs and Elmer nodded.

"They passed by our table and went straight into school. We have no idea why." Specs said. I frowned. They pointedly didn't sit with us. They must have been really mad, and it was all my fault. I was saved my the bell ringing, starting the day. I grabbed my stuff and made it to first period, which I had with Katherine.

"So what's wrong with you today?" She asked while walking in.

"I don't know what you'se means." I responded. She rolled her eyes.

"It seems I was the only one to see you, Davey, and Race act guilty when the subject of Spot and Crutchie not sitting with us came up. So I recommend you spill." She said, smiling a little.

"Well, last night Davey, Race, and me-"

"I."

"Yeah, whatever. Well anyways, we got Crutchie over. We had a plan to try and... get him to open up to us about something. It didn't work, he figured us out, and now I'se pretty sure he hates us." I stated simply.

"And then he told Spot who was mad with him." Katherine put together.

"Sadly, yeah." I sighed. This was all my fault.


	16. Anger and Guilt

TW: None that I know of (tell me if I miss any)

Crutchie POV  
I decided to skip out of sitting with the gang, and Spot joined me. I was still so mad at Race, Davey, and Jack. They had tried to trick me just because I wasn't ready to tell them something. What good friends.

"-utchie! You zoned out a little, is you'se okay?" Spot asked, waving a hand in front of my eyes. I shook my head a little, trying to clear it. My thoughts were still muddled from yesterday, and the headache seemed to get worse.

"I'm fine, sorry Spot." Spot shrugged.

"Nothin' to be sorry about." He laughed, I laughed a little as well. "So, are ya gonna tell the other guys, and Katherine and Sarah, that you isn't mad at 'em?"

"I mean, I have first period with a bunch, so probably. I just hope they aren't mad at me for ditching." I sighed. I was a lot more worried than I let on though. I was so scared they weren't going to talk to me. Or listen to me. I felt someone shake my shoulders and was sucked back into reality.

"Crutchie?! Are you sure you're okay? Because that's the second time in two minutes you'se zoned out," Spot looked concerned. "And I know that ain't normal." I decided to answer him with part of the truth.

"Yeah sorry, I've just been having this really bad headache for a little bit. I probably zoned out just cause... I don't know, cause the brain can be weird sometimes." I laughed. Spot snorted a little then covered his mouth. I laughed at him a little.

"You tell anyone about that and you'se is dead!" Spot threatened. I laughed a little harder.

"Like you would hurt me. But okay, I won't tell." I put my hands up in mock surrender. Soon the bell rang and we went our ways, Spot going to english and me going to science. I walked in and sat down, but was not as excited as usual. I had this class with Albert, Elmer, Specs, and Finch, and they would be wondering what was wrong. I didn't want them to be mad at me, and I wasn't mad at them.

They walked in together, talking, but when they saw me they stopped. I looked away from them, a little guilty. I felt someone sit down next to me and saw Elmer's smiling face. What a face- face the fact that he might be mad. I thought to myself.

"Hey Crutchie! If its okay, can we ask you why you didn't sit with us?" He asked quietly. I reluctantly nodded.

"I am mad at a few people. Like really mad. I knew if I sat there it would be awkward and have a lot of tension." I responded. He nodded then looked at the others, who hadn't sat down yet.

"Was it one of us?"

"No no no no! It's a few different people. I feel guilty not telling you'se guys though, so sorry." I said, looking at the others. They seemed to relax and sat down in their normal spots.

"Eh, forget about it. I'se just glad you ain't mad at me." Albert said. Everyone else nodded in agreement and I smiled, glad they weren't mad.

"So who ARE you mad at?" Finch asked. I sighed a little and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Jack, Race, and Davey."

"Why?" Specs inquired.

"They did something that broke my trust big time." I explained, leaving it at that. They all nodded, and Elmer looked mildly annoyed. I hoped that they didn't get mad at the three because of me. Class started, and I got happier. I loved science and most of my friends knew I wasn't mad at them.

We learned mostly about chemical reactions and how to identify them.

"Hey Crutch? Can you sit with us at lunch? Spot too. We need to talk about the rally, and we miss you." Finch said. I nodded and they smiled. The bell rang and we got up from our seats. I turned down Elmer's offer to help and walked out behind everyone.

I walked through the doors and turned to go to my next class. As I'm walking past a dark classroom, I'm suddenly pulled into it. A hand grabbed my arm and covered my mouth. Once in there I turn to see two people I would rather not see. The Delancy brothers.


	17. Forgiven

TW: Little talk of smoking, Little talk of pneumonia

Race POV (muahaha cliffhangers from the last chapter)  
It was so stupid. My 'plan' was, if you can even call it that. Once the bell rang and everyone left, I walked to class. I had english, with none other than, my crush, Spot Conlon. He probably hated me now, and I couldn't blame him. I sometimes got jealous about how close he is to Crutchie, but always hide it. They are just good friends.

I walked into class and saw Spot there, in his normal seat, looking directly forward. I could tell he was annoyed, probably at me. I cleared my throat a little as I sat down next to him. He looked at me with an eyebrow raises.

"Yes?" He asked coldly.

"I uh, just wanted to tell ya that I'se sorry. So are Davey and Jack." I said. He nodded and looked away. I hope he accepted it, or will tell Crutchie about it. All three of us really did feel bad. We should have just waited until he was ready, for Crutchie never kept anything from us for that long.

I focused on the lesson once the teacher started, although it was pretty boring. Once the bell rang and I got up, I felt a hand on my shoulder, turning me around. I turned and saw Spot.

"Yeah?" I asked, rather nervous.

"I just wanted to say, that I accepted your apology. I don't know if Crutchie is gonna, but I can tell you're being sincere. I will probably act like I hate you, and I'se still mad at Jack and Davey 'cause they haven't apologized yet, for Crutchie's sake. He... he needs someone on his side for now." Spot said, looking away like he was embarrassed from time to time. I felt shell-shocked. Spot. The Spot Conlon. Captain of football and my crush just gave me a beautiful speech. My jaw almost dropped at it, but I made sure to keep it closed. I put on a cocky grin.

"I'se glad. You would get into trouble without me." I responded. He scoffed.

"Oh yeah, OUT of trouble. Like how you was caught smoking at school."

"Hey they was Coronas!" I retorted, which made him laugh. We walked outside of class together. I was happy he wasn't fully mad at me anymore, and I knew he could help me apologize to Crutchie. I groaned a little when I remembered something.

"What?" Spot asked.

"Crutchie is in my next class!" I said exasperatedly. "He still hates me, not that I blame him, but it's gonna be so awkward and I could do something that makes it worse!" Spot chuckled a little.

"I don't think you can make it worse. Also if he is still mad, just stay a little away. Some space would do him good." Spot said, calming most of my worries. I gave him a nod as we turned to go to our different classes.

I walked into class, noticing he wasn't there yet. I sat a little ways away from where I usually sat with Crutchie and Romeo. I didn't know how good Romeo and Crutchie were after this morning, but even still I knew Crutchie would want to sit in his normal spot. Romeo walked in with his normal, flirty, grin. He noticed me sitting somewhere different and walked over.

"Why aren't you sitting where we'se normally do?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Crutchie is mad at me. I'se thinks keeping distance would help." I responded, a little sad. Romeo nodded and told me he would probably sit where we normally did.

I waited anxiously for Crutchie to walk in, maybe glare at me or maybe not even look my way, and sit with Romeo. As the time for class changes dragged on, both Romeo and I became more confused and concerned. Crutchie was never late, even with the crutch, and he only rarely leaves school. Once he was coughing his head off, and told us about some chest pains, but pushed through school so as to not be behind. Later that day he texted us that he had pneumonia and wouldn't be as school for a little.

Something was keeping him, and I knew he had had a headache yesterday. It's just that. He went home because the headache got bad. I told myself as the late bell rang. Although, deep in my gut, I could feel something was wrong.


	18. The Waiting Game

TW: Little talk of pneumonia

Davey POV  
I walked into second period and towards my table. Jack and Albert were already there. I smiled at them, and Jack smiled back. Albert looked a little mad at me, and I assumed he knew what happened with us and Crutchie.

"Look, Albert, I'm sorry about what happened with Crutchie. I'm pretty sure you know since you just had a class with him. Please don't be mad at us, we already have enough people mad..." I trailed off near the end. Albert raised an eyebrow then smiled a little.

"I'm not mad. More... curious 'bout what happened." He explained, searching for the right word. Jack and I both sighed with relief, happy that we would not have to suffer with another friend giving us the cold-shoulder. Class went on as usual, I was actually excited to learn, Albert was almost asleep, and Jack kept passing notes to me. Once the bell rang we all got up and started to make our way to lunch. I was a little nervous that Spot and Crutchie were not going to be there.

"Also, Spot and Crutch should be there. We asked Crutchie and he said he probably would, and that he would convince Spot to come too." The red-head seemed to read my mind.

"Great, I hope it's not too awkward." Jack mumbled. 

"I don't think it will be, most people know something happened and will probably keep the subject off of anything like it." I assured him.

"I hope so." He looked up at me and smiled. I loved that smile. We got into the cafeteria and sat down. Everyone was acting normal and we were only waiting for Race, Spot, Romeo, and Crutchie. It was getting closer to halfway through lunch when people started getting concerned. None of the four had come in yet. I could see that people wanted to ask where they were, and Finch was about to, when they walked in. Well, three of the four did. Spot, Race, and Romeo seemed to be talking in a rushed manor. Romeo and Spot looked very concerned while Race seemed to be just as concerned, but trying to calm them down. I guess Race apologized at least to Spot. I noted.

Once they got closer I caught what they were saying.

"-ink it was just the headache. He told you it was a little worse this morning right!" Race said.

"But he had pneumonia once and didn't leave school!" Romeo countered.

"Yeah, I don't think he would leave for just a headache!" Spot said, going to bite his nails but Race gently pushed his hand down. They were so cute and needed to get together.

"Who are you talking about?" Sarah asked once they drew nearer.

"Crutchie. He didn't come to class last period." Romeo answered while sitting down.

"How do you know he didn't just get sick and go home?" I asked, even though I knew part of the answer.

"A few years ago, Crutch was coughing up a storm one day." Finch started.

"He didn't leave school no matter what, 'cause he didn't want to miss anything." Jack added.

"Then soon after school was over, he texted us that he had pneumonia and would miss school." Elmer finished, the table chuckled a little. I did too, apparently Crutchie really hated missing classes.

"Thats what I'm saying!" Spot interjected, looking worried. "He would not leave just because of a headache! I know he wouldn't. I think something happened to him." I looked around the table, and most people seemed to agree with him.

"Well what can we do?" Specs asked, to nobody in particular.

"We could text him first, see if something worse happened and he left," I threw out, to which most people nodded.

"If he doesn't answer we probably should look for him." Katherine said, a somber tone in her voice.

"We need to go ahead and do it then. So we have time to look." Elmer said determinedly, and I knew he must be worried sick on the inside. That was his crush after all. I know if Jack was not here and could be hurt, I would want to find him. So I guess I'm admitting I have a crush, happy 'javid' shippers? I thought. A few people pulled out their phones and texted him. Now the worst time of all; waiting.


	19. Pain Brings Us Together

TW: 'Crip' Used as a Slurr, Bullying, Punching, Slapping, Kicking, Bruises, Blood

Crutchie POV  
Pain. That's really all I felt. I guess after being interrupted two times, Morris and Oscar were really angry. They needed to get the anger out somehow, and I happened to be that.

~~~Flashback Timeeeee~~~  
The Delancy brothers.

"Well, if it ain't the crip." Oscar said with a maniacal smile. Morris slowly shut the door.

"Got nobody to save you now." Morris laughed. I ripped my arm away from Oscars grasp and took a step backwards.

"Look, I don't know why you hate me, but this is really getting ou-" I was cut off by Oscar.

"We don't hate you. We just think you're a useless crip. And it seems we need to get that through to you." He smiled again. Apparently he didn't know I already knew that. In a flash he had stepped forward, and held a firm grasp on the collar of my shirt. Morris ripped my crutch from under my arm, so now Oscar was the only thing holding me up.

"Please I don-" Morris slapped me across the face. I felt it start to sting and knew it looked very red.

"Don't try to beg." He said menacingly. I gulped and nodded frantically. Suddenly, Oscar punched me in the stomach. I doubled over as much as I could, a lot of my shirt still in Oscars hand. Oscar threw me towards a wall. I landed with a 'thud' and the wind was knocked out of me. I managed to keep myself up by holding onto a desk.

Morris punched me in the face this time. Right in my eye. I yelped a little, and Oscar took that moment to punch me in the stomach again. I doubled over, and this time Morris shoved me over. I landed on the ground and instinctively started to curl up. Oscar stopped that when he kicked me in the chin hard. I tasted blood in my mouth and knew I must have bitten my tongue. Stars danced in my vision a little. I must have been dazed for a moment, because Oscar and Morris pounced then.

The kicked and punched me all over. My good leg. My bad leg. My stomach. My chest. My chest a LOT. And my face. After when felt like hours, and could very well have been one, Oscar put an arm across Morris' chest.

"I think that shows him for today. Now let's go before anyone gets suspicious." Morris nodded and they walked out of the classroom.

~~~End O' Flashback~~~

I looked down at my body a little. I immediately noticed the amount of blood and bruises. Both of my legs were caked in blood, and my torso was oozing some from cuts. The bruises were just everywhere. Thats the only way I could explain it. My arm felt numb, but also on fire at the same time. It was also bent at a weird angle, which I took as a sign it was broken.

I heaved myself into a sitting position. My head pounded in agony, and I knew I had received multiple blows to it. My chest felt tight, and air seemed to stab my throat as it went down. I lifted a hand to my face and touched it a little, already noticing all the blood dripping from my nose. Probably another broken thing. My dad is going to be so mad about the bills. Slowly, the pounding and the pressure in my head got worse. I started to feel my eyelids droop, and even though I knew I probably shouldn't, I let them close and sunk into a numb abyss of black.

Jack POV  
"He still hasn't answered?" I asked nervously. Everyone at the table shook their head. I knew we probably shouldn't have gotten so worried, but I also had a gut feeling telling me something was very wrong.

"It's been twenty minutes." Katherine said aloud. Everyone nodded solemnly, knowing he would have replied by now.

"I think we need to go and look for him. Something is definitely wrong." I didn't even know I had spoken the words until they came out of my mouth. 

"Yeah, let's split into groups and we can search for the last 15 minutes." Elmer suggested. Everyone nodded and partnered up. I ended up with Davey, while Katherine had Sarah, Romeo had Specs, Albert had Finch, and Spot, Elmer, and Race decided to work together.

"Let's go find our Crutchie." Davey said, determination radiating from him. I smiled at him, he was so perfect as a leader. I pushed those thoughts away and walked forward. Time to get my best friend back.


	20. The Search Brings Us Closer

TW: Little Mention of Blood

Katherine POV  
Sarah and I left the cafeteria and walked towards the english halls. We hadn't really had a reason to chose these hallways, except that both Sarah and I had a gut feeling.

Even though we were in a very serious situation, I couldn't help but be happy. I got to spend all this time alone with Sarah. She was so pretty and smart, and she had amazing ideas on how to help our rally. I had a crush on her, I had to admit, but I don't think she would ever find me attractive. Right? Apparently not.

"Hey, I know this is a serious time and all," Sarah turned to me, scratching the back of her neck a little. "But I just wanted to go ahead and say, that I like you. A lot. Like a lot a lot. You're so pretty and creative and smart and funny and kind and I've liked you since we bumped into each other, literally, that one time. I know you probably don't like me back and that's fine, I just wanted to get this off my chest."

I gaped at her then, registering fully what she said, smiled.

"I like you too, like a lot a lot." I copied her words. Her mouth was open wide, and you could tell the joy in her eyes.

"Really?! Oh my goodness!" She said excitedly. As much as I wanted to be excited with her, I knew we should get down to business.

"As much as I like you, we need to find Crutchie." I said to her. She nodded as a serious look came across her face.

"Let's get going then,"

Race POV  
I walked down the halls with Spot next to me. Elmer was in front of us, his amount of worry making him walk much faster. I had both of my hands in my pockets, and was just thinking while also looking. We had chosen to look at the math hall.

"Hey Race? Are you thinking?" Spot randomly asked. I hummed a 'yeah' in response. "Good, cause I thought I had smelled smoke." Spot joked and shoved my shoulder playfully. I laughed in response and watching his smile grow a little more, even if it was just slightly.

"Any sign?" Elmer called back to us, worried sick. I could tell because of the way his hands were fidgeting.

"Not yet..." I replied sadly. Spot looked worried as well, although he hid it more. Crutchie was one of his best friends, and they were almost always seen together. I touched Spots shoulder lightly. "Whatever happened to him, I promise we will be able to help." I assured him. He smiled weakly at me and nodded, a little more determination coming across his face. I smiled now that he was smiling, and turned my head to look down the hallway. Then I noticed something that didn't sit well.

Elmer POV  
I anxiously bit my lip as I looked into the sixth classroom. Nothing. God, I hope he is alright, or at least not dead. I wish I had told him before this that I liked him. Maybe he liked me back. If I had told him, then I could have stayed with him and made sure whatever happened to him didn't happen.

"Heya guys, that don't look good, does it?" Race asked. I slowed and stopped next to him to see where he was pointing. Down the hall were Oscar and Morris Delancy. They seemed to have just gotten out of a classroom, holding papers. It looked like they had missed last period. I squinted a little and saw something glint on Oscars fingers.

I gasped a little and Spot gave me a slightly confused look.

"Look at Oscars right hand, something is glinting on them. It looks like brass knuckles!"

"That ain't the worst part." Spot pointed out. It was my turn to give him a confused look. "Look at the edge," I looked and felt a little queasy. Blood. Race was about to say something, when the text message alert went off on all of our phones. I scrambled to unlock mine and check the messages. There was only one.

Group Name: The Newsiesssss

LesbianOfDemise: We found him, and he is not in good shape.


	21. Okay...?

TW: Bruises, Blood, Kinda Graphic

Jack POV  
I frantically typed.

JackBeNimble: Where are you and how bad is he?!

Davey looked over my shoulder and read the next text.

LesbianOfDemise: English hall, room 372, and hes unconscious and not breathing too well

Once I read where I sprinted off. I heard footsteps behind me and knew Davey was following. I slid into the hallway, quickly checking the time. We had about 7 minutes of lunch left. I quickly opened the classroom door and walked in.

Most of the group was there, only Albert and Finch weren't. Specs was hugging Romeo who seemed close to crying. Katherine was on the phone and pacing a little. Sarah was talking with her, probably also speaking to whoever was on the phone. Spot and Race were quitely talking, and I saw Spot cast many nervous glances to the side. Race seemed to be distracting Spot, snapping his fingers in his face every time Spot looked over. My eyes finally landed on Elmer and Crutchie. My heart stopped when I saw him.

He was covered in bruises and blood. His right arm was at a weird angle, and his eyes were closed. He looked pretty peaceful, but I could tell by the way his chest moved he wasn't doing good. His chest was moving very little, and when it did it seemed to be in pain. Elmer had tear streaks on his face and was wiping some blood off. 

I walked up to Elmer and sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jumped at my touch, then looked my way. I saw the pain in his eyes and knew it was probably reflected in mine. Just as Albert and Finch came into the room and took in the situation, Katherine ended the call.

"Okay, I just informed the emergency room and the school. The ambulance should be here soon," She paused a little. For some reason we were all being relatively calm. I felt like a tornado inside, but kept my cool on the outside. "They said we should probably stay in school for the rest of the day, but that after we could visit." We all nodded glumly.

Was this my fault? I did get him mad at me, and that meant I couldn't stay with him to walk or talk. I thought to myself. I must have zoned out, because when I felt a hand on my back I jumped. I looked up and saw Davey.

"This wasn't your fault. I promise," he must have read my mind. He smiled, and I felt a few fireworks go off in me. I smiled back weakly and turned back to Crutchie to help Elmer clean him off a little. Soon the paramedics came and took him away. Davey had to hold me back as they took him, I didn't want to leave his side. The secretary to the principal- I think her name was Hannah- came down to talk with us.

"I know you all are probably scared, and thats okay. The medics assured me he would be okay, I believe them and so should you." She started. "We have the counselors ready in case you want to talk, which I know you probably won't but better safe then sorry, but we do ask you to stay here for the remainder of the day. You can tell people about it, but it would be best if you didn't, for your own sake. I don't think it would be fun to have people grilling you after a dear friend was just taken to the ER." The bell interrupted her. "I will give you all late passes, but you should be heading to class soon." We all nodded and took the passes. She was actually really nice and pretty funny. 

We stood in silence for a little, letting the few people in the hallways pass us. Specs snapped us out of it.

"Hey, lets go ahead and go." He said. Finch nodded.

"Just think about this, the school will get our minds off of it and then before we know it we will be able to see him." He assured. I smirked a little.

"Didn't know you'se was such a philosopher." I joked. This elicited a few laughs from people. Soon it was just Finch, Sarah, and I walking towards class. This was going to be a long day.


	22. Who Could It Be?

TW: 'Crip' Used as Slurr, Cussing

Davey POV  
I slipped away from the dwindling group with Katherine, Albert, and Romeo at my side. We all had history together. Once we walked in, we sat our normal table. You could tell nobody felt like talking, all of their minds someplace else. That was until two people stood in front of them.

"Well look at these four, whatcha sad about, huh? All your boyfriends leave you?" I heard in a mocking tone. I didn't even need to look up to tell it was Morris who spoke.

"Oh shove off." Albert growled. The brothers looked a little surprised.

"Ya know Morris, I think I know why they are sad." Oscar said with a grin and a malicious glint in his eyes. "Could it be because of that crip?" My head shot up, as did the rest of the groups.

"One, never call him that. Two, how did you know?" Katherine asked, squinting her eyes with suspicion. Oscar shrugged.

"We may or may not have seen something related to him being taken to the hospital." He said. I could tell they were lying though, but couldn't tell what about.

"Send the crip our best regards." Morris mocked and walked off. Katherine looked seething mad, but the rest of us were just confused. How did they know?

I thought back to what I knew about them. I knew they were assholes. I knew they picked on our group. I knew they had the brain the size of a pea, but the fists the size of an elephant. I knew they both owned brass knuckles. I knew they were assholes, wait did I say that already. Alright they are assholes squared then.

It suddenly hit me. A possibility. A sad possibility. Also one that would just be an ungrounded accusation against them if I were to bring it up. I only had my logical thinking skills as evidence.

"What if they did it?" I said, just loud enough for our group to hear. Their jaws dropped a little.

"It makes sense! They'se hate our group, and almost always pushed or shoved us around." Albert added.

"I know they use... that word a lot against Crutchie." Katherine agreed, not saying the word herself.

"And they love to hurt us, well hurt anybody really." Romeo put in angrily. We theorized for a while, until the teacher made us do our assignments. After class we kept talking, until we went our separate ways.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

Finally, fourth period was over. Only one more thing and we could check on Crutchie. I felt like it was partly my fault he got hurt. I was one of the three he was mad at. I shook those thoughts away and headed to room 103. When I got in, everyone else was already there. Sarah had also recently joined our club.

"Davey, finally, we were just talking about the rally!" Katherine said when she saw me. Jack waved me over and I sat next to him. Mr. Denton was also sitting in our little circle, giving ideas in.

"We were thinking next Thursday," Jack said.

"It's after school," Specs added.

"No sports games are going on," Spot put in.

"And no auditions or tryouts for anything are going on, only practices and club meetings." Finch finished. I nodded, it sounded like a perfect plan. Although you could feel the nervous energy in the room, we seemed to push past it. I think pushing past it also helped the time go faster. 

"Well, to put a damper on the niceness." Romeo started. "Kath, Al, Davey, and I have an idea of who could have done it."

"Who?" Jack asked immediately.

"Delancy's." I explained why we thought this. We theorized for a while, but soon it was time to leave. When Mr. Denton announced this, everyone was ready in a flash. We all sped outside and into our respective vehicles.

"How were your days?" My mom asked as I got in. Les was already there and Sarah got in after.

"Pretty bad." I answered. My mom looked shocked.

"Can you take us to the hospital?" Sarah asked. Our mom looked even more worried.

"Are you two okay?!" She asked.

"We ate fine, but our friend is not. He got... really hurt today and they took him to this hospital. We wanted to go visit him." I showed her a location on my phone. My mom nodded, seeming determined and drove off.

"Was it that 'Jack' person you're always talking about?" Les asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "Or is it Katherine?"

"Les!"


	23. Hospital

TW: Slight cussing, Wires, Hospital

Jack POV  
I hopped into Medda's car quickly, Race right next to me. Medda already knew about what happened, she was a teacher and all.

"Ready to go boys?" She asked. We nodded and she went off. We arrived pretty soon, only about 6 minutes. Most of the parents just dropped off, so that the waiting room was not over crowded. Medda had decided to drop us off as well. When we got in Elmer, Davey, Sarah, Katherine, Spot, and Albert were already there. Finch and Specs wouldn't be able to come today, sadly, because they had some other plans that they were needed for.

Katherine and Sarah were whispering to each other, smiling a little and blushing. Davey, Elmer, and Albert were also talking, and Spot just looked lost in thought.

"Hey Jack." Davey said when I walked in. I walked over to his group and talked a little with him. Race went over to talk with Spot.

"Apparently he had internal bleeding as well, so he had to go into a surgery." Elmer said glumly.

"But he should be out soon," Albert said, trying to cheer us up. Romeo came in at some point and joined us. Soon a nurse came out and looked at them all.

"Are you all here for Charlie Morris?" They asked. We nodded. "He is out of surgery, and you can see him. Be careful though because he is still under the anesthesia a little." Davey had a worried look on his face, but I dismissed it for just being worried about the whole situation. The group seemed to move as one as we followed the nurse. "Only three at a time." The nurse warned us.

We looked at each other, silently asking who should go first. Romeo shook his head lightly, as did Albert and Sarah. I looked between Davey, Spot, Elmer, Katherine, Race, and I.

"I think you three should go. Especially so you can apologize." Spot said, pointing to Race, Davey, and I. I nodded, and felt something touch my hand. Soon it was a hand threaded through mine giving it a small squeeze. I looked for the owner and saw Davey. I blushed a bit, but composed myself and went inside the room.

It was all a starch white, a bright one that hurt your eyes. My eyes finally landed on Crutchie, and I felt my breathing hitch. He was connected with many wires to machines. He was bandaged in many places, and his right arm was in a cast. His body was covered from head to toe in bruises, and more alarmingly, ones that did not look fresh.

He was also completely still, not a twitch or anything. It was unnerving, for he was almost always moving. I could feel Davey's grip tighten on my hand a little as he took it in. Race pulled up three chairs, and we sat beside his bed.

"Hey Crutch." I murmured. "I know this is far too little, but I wanted to say I'm sorry. For trying to get you to talk when you obviously didn't want to."

"Me too,"

"Yeah, it was my stupid idea." Race added. I didn't know what else to say, hell I didn't even know if Crutchie could hear me. The three of us stayed silent for a little, it was half awkward and also half comfortable.

We were about to leave when I saw his hand twitch. I looked up and saw his face. He was groggily opening his eyes. Almost immediately, he squeezed them tightly shut, probably because of the harsh lights.

"What'd I miss?" He asked, his voice hoarse. I laughed at his reference as Race and Davey's heads snapped up.

"Oh thank god you're okay!" Race exclaimed.

"I wouldn't say 'okay', but not dead." Crutchie countered. "And I forgive all of you. Just please don't do it again." He asked. All of us nodded simultaneously. After a little bit of talking, we went out of the room.

"Spot, I think you Elmer and someone else should go in." I said. I smiled a little as they went in.

"You never told them he was awake," Davey whispered in my ear.

"It's the little surprise." I smiled, mostly thinking about how we were still holding hands and how close he was to me. I was also smiling because Crutchie was okay and had forgiven me. I heard a quiet shriek of joy, and knew one must have realized he had woken up and would be okay. This would have to get better after this.


	24. Not Alone

TW: Wires, Hospital

Crutchie POV  
I blinked open my eyes to see blinding white lights. I closed them again, the glare hurting. I tried to remember where I was, but I couldn't. I remembered what happened before I woke up though.

I started to get a feel for my surroundings, which is when I felt the wires. I felt many wires connected to me. Some in my arm, which was sore in the elbow. Some attached to my fingers. I also heard the beeping, like a heart monitor. Wait a minute. I thought. Wires. Bright lights. Beeping. I think I'm in a hospital. Someone must have found me when I passed out and brought me here, I deduced. Once I stopped obsessing over how I got into the hospital, I felt the other thing.

Someone was gripping my hand. I twitched it a bit and the person moved. I opened my eyes slightly and saw Jack was the person holding my hand. Race and Davey seemed to be with him as well, and I remember something that sounded like an apology from all three. I decided to let them know I was awake, and felt like doing it with a reference.

"What's I miss?" I asked, my voice felt scratchy and hurt a little. Both Davey and Race's heads picked up and they smiled at me, while I heard Jack snicker. We talked for a little. I accepted their apologies and they explained where I was and why. I grimaced a little when they said they didn't know who did it, but had an idea. I didn't want to tell them because I was scared the Delancy's would go after them.

"We are going to go ahead and go, but we will send someone in okay?" Jack asked and I nodded in response. I closed my eyes once they left and waited for the people to come in. I recognized the voices of Spot and Elmer. I then realized they must not know I'm awake. Once I felt them sit down near me, I opened my eyes again.

"Hey guys." I whispered. Elmer shrieked a little then covered his mouth, a smile still present. Spot just smiled at me.

"Hey Crutch, you doin' good?" Spot asked. I raised an eyebrow and he chuckled. "Probably a stupid question." We talked a bit, but Spot got a text and said that he had to leave, but would be back tomorrow at least. As he left the room, it was just me and Elmer. You and you CRUSH! My brain corrected its self.

"So. Crutchie," Elmer said. He seemed to feel uncomfortable and anxious about something. "I wanted to tell you this, before anything worse happened. I should have told you this much before, but was always to scared." He paused and chuckled a little. "But after this... thing. I knew that I had to tell you, otherwise I..." he paused. "I may never get to." He took a deep breath, and I squeezed his hand in a comforting way {yes they were holding hands}.

"I like you." I froze. He what? He liked me back. How?! I was just the dumb kid who always got beat up and had to have the others protect him! I couldn't even stand up to my dad. And yet he said that he had feelings... for ME. "I like like you. In a romantic way. I know you probably don't like me back, but I just needed to say this." He closed his eyes and braced himself, like I was going to attack. I smiled at him.

"I like like you too." I said, quietly. His head snapped up and his eyes flew open.

"Y-you do?!" He said, amazed. I felt my face heat up a little.

"I have for a while, I just never got the courage to tell you." I replied. He smiled perhaps the biggest smile I have ever seen. That smile gave way to a more confused look.

"What about us now?" He asked.

"What do you want us to be?" I answered. He looked at me in the eyes this time, and I looked back, remembering how pretty his eyes were.

"I want to... be in a relationship." I smiled softly at this.

"I do too." He smiled back. I guess I have a boyfriend now.

A/N: never written a relationship or been in one in my life lol. Lets see how this works, also CRELMER IS NOW A SHIP AND I STAN IT


	25. Idiots

TW:

Davey POV  
Crutchie is going to be okay. He has forgiven us. I kept telling myself as I walked out of the door. I was smiling widely, and mostly focused on those thoughts. That is probably why it took me a while to notice my fingers were still intertwined with Jacks.

This was after we had heard the squeal from inside the room. I chuckled a little, and happened to look down. I saw our hands and then felt them. Immediately I pulled my hand away, horrified at myself for doing that.

"You'se okay?" Jack asked. I nodded in response, not trusting my words. I had just accidentally been holding hands with someone for about 30 minutes. But not just anyone, no, life had to screw me up by making it Jack. When I came back into reality, I noticed Jack looking skeptical. He didn't push and I was very grateful for that. Soon Spot came out alone.

"Hey, where is Elmer?" Katherine asked. Spot motioned to the room.

"Still in there. I have to go guys, see ya tomorrow." He said and walked away. I snickered a little. Of course Spot would just up and leave, but of course he would come back here tomorrow to make up for it. I looked back over what had happened. Our gang had stayed pretty calm, actually. It was almost scary. A friend got beat up and taken to the hospital, and we were calm on the outside.

I shuddered a little, knowing that that was on the outside. At least for me, during the whole ordeal, I was having major internal conflict. I won't bore you with it, but just know that it was... confusing. I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up to see Jack.

"It's time to go," he whispered. I must have looked shocked, because he smiled one of those cocky grins. "You'se been thinking for a while. Like a LONG time." He emphasized the 'long'.

"How long?" I asked, tilting my head suspiciously.

"Well, it is not 6:30 and the hospital is starting to close visitor hours." I stared at him, wide eyed. I was thinking for that long?! And I hadn't even thought of much. Great. I got up and stretched my legs a little. Jack did the same. I noticed everyone except Sarah, Jack, Race, and I were gone. Probably have lives. I thought to myself. Sarah and Race noticed us getting up and got up too. I pulled out my phone to text my mom, but Sarah shook her head.

"Already called her." She said, with a small smirk. I nodded back, and Race and Jack looked surprised.

"So... wait. Do you'se have a twin telepathy thing?" Race asked, as we started to shuffle to the exit. Sarah and I laughed.

"Not really, we just know each other well." I responded. Race raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

"You'se sure? Not even a little?" He asked. Sarah and I laughed again.

"No, none at all. Just, when you live you while lives together, you start to expect what they are going to do." Sarah explained. Race took the answer for now, but looked like he wanted to ask more questions later. He probably will. Just then, out mom arrived. Les popped his head out of the window of the backseat and grinned at us.

"Hi Sarah and Davey and friends!" He waved. Sarah and I sighed while Jack and Race waved back.

"Bye Race, bye Jack. See you tomorrow." I said as I hopped into the front seat. Once we had started moving Les looked at me.

"So that is Jack," he said, with a smile that really makes me want to punch him. I pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance while Sarah giggled. I scowled at her and responded with,

"You should see what Katherine looks like." Sarah's giggles stoped immediately and it was her turn to glare at me.

"Back off, she is mine."

"I never said I wanted her, just saying Les should meet her." I said defensively, putting my hands up as in to surrender.

"We both know what would happen if that came true." Sarah retorted. Les grinned again.

"I would tell her how much you talk about her, and how you LOOOOOOOOOOOVE her." Les informed, while dissolving in a fit of laughter. I laughed with him, while Sarah frowned angrily at us both.

Sarah POV  
Idiots.


	26. It’s Friday (friday gotta get down on friday)

TW:

Jack POV  
I woke up to the alarm. Blaring. Right. In. My. Ear. I angrily hit the snooze button and threw the covers off of me. A sense of déjà vu passed over me, but I shrugged it off. Finally, Friday. I thought. I put on my clothes, and because I was the first one up decided to yell at Race.

I opened his door silently and he was still asleep. I walked over to his head.

"WAKE UP!" I screamed. His head shot up and he glared at me. I started backing away towards the door, holding in my laughter. I got out quickly, but not before he threw a pillow, hitting me directly in the head. I chuckled and grabbed it, walking to the kitchen.

"Woke him up?" Medda asked. I nodded, still laughing on the inside. Race soon joined me, his hair still a mess. Medda saw and almost burst into laughter.

"It ain't THAT bad!" Race protested.

"Sure it's not." I mumbled. He glared daggers at me, and I only started to laugh harder.

"That's it." He grumbled and got up. He went to the bathroom and came back with decent looking hair. I gave him a thumbs up, and he stuck his tongue out at me. Medda gave us breakfast then went out the door.

"Sorry boys! Auditions start in few days, and I am going to have to go in earlier until then. Leave the door at or before 8:00 okay?" She reminded us, and we nodded. She closed the door and Race and I went along with out morning routine as we normally did. It was 7:58 as we left the house, and we got to school at 8:17. I sat down in my normal seat, everyone but Crutchie was there.

"Is the football team gonna come?" Finch asked Spot. Spot shook his head a little.

"We don't know yet, gonna see how it plays out over the week." He responded. Everyone nodded, mostly in frustration and some in sadness, then people split off into small conversations. I found myself debating with Albert over wether pizza was just an open sandwich. Sarah was the neutral party for this, and we were trying to convinced her. I personally though pizza was just an open sandwich, so I argued for that. Albert was in the middle of making a statement, when the bell rang. We decided to call it a tie for now, and continue at lunch.

I walked to first period, which felt weird. I knew it was because Crutchie wasn't there, and no matter how sappy it was it was true. The class seemed a little bit duller without his jokes and puns, or even just the funny faces he made pertaining to the subject. It felt like only minutes had passed by when the bell rang. I shrugged on my backpack and grabbed my books, making my way to second period.

~~~Time of the skips~~~

I finally made it to fourth period. I walked into the auditorium and was greeted by Davey waving me towards him. I set my bags down and jogged over. He was talking with Elmer, Finch, Specs, Romeo, and a guy I knew about named Thomas.

"Okay, we need your opinion." Romeo started. "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I say egg, because the modern chicken had to start in the egg and then they could reproduce." Specs added on.

"I think the same thing," Thomas agreed. And Finch nodded.

"We think the chicken came first, because you had to have a chicken to actually make the egg in the first place." Davey said, pointing to Romeo, Elmer, and himself.

"Well the modern chick had to come from an egg first!" I argued. This sparked a heated debate about the genetics and likely-hood of all the scenarios. We ended when Medda called our attention.

"Today we are going to be learning how to work sound!" This was met with all of the actors groaning. Most of the techies were mildly excited, and some were super excited. Of course the actors would hate it though, for they would never really use them in their life. "I know many of you dislike it-" Understatement much? "It is still a very vital part of theatre! And the sooner we get started, the sooner we can finish and I may let you all sing songs from musicals!" This got everyone racing towards where Medda was standing.

A/N: I know all the classes change around just deal with it, also i havnt really been in a production of anything or a theatre class so if this is very wrong, my apologies


	27. Flyers and Poster boards

TW: Little Talk Of Abuse

Crutchie POV  
It was boring at the hospital all day. I couldn't do anything but watch tv, play on my phone, and read. And I know that sounds fun to many it was not to me. The doctors came in and detached all the wires, so now I could move freely. Well, mostly freely on account of my leg and arm. The cast was very bulky and stupid. The only time it was fun was getting my friends to sign it.

One thing I hadn't mentioned, to the doctors or my friends, was my dad. I hadn't heard from him in all the time I had been here, but I know he will not be pleased. When I go home he will probably beat me up. I shook the thoughts away and focused on the time.

"Now!" I said as it turned to 3:15. The bell should have rung just then, so my friends were going to be out of theatre class and school for the week. Only the first week of school has gone by? Wow, so much has happened someone could write a fan fiction about it. A doctor made her way into the room.

"Charlie?" She asked, and I nodded. "We just wanted to let you know that you will only be spending three more days here. We will give you pain killers for when you go home, and you will want to take two a day. You also need to be careful not to open up any stitches, although after about two weeks they should dissolve and only leave a scar." I smiled and thanked her.

I will get to go home! Oh no, I get to go home. I just realized what this meant. I debated with myself on wether I should tell Jack or Spot or Elmer or someone. I decided against it for now, but made a pact with myself. If he hurts you bad enough you open your stitches, you WILL tell someone. And you won't be a burden because of it. I told myself, repeating it in my head a little.

Soon the gang got here and we just hung out. We talked, mostly about the auditions and whose going and how the rally planning is going.

"What are we going to do after the rally, if it don't work?" Race asked. This brought us to silence, we hadn't thought of that.

"We could do a sit-in, in one of the classrooms." Specs proposed.

"That ain't bad, somebody write that down." Jack said, and we laughed a little.

"That would work, it would be peaceful and get our point across. AND we could get all the clubs and sports to join, they can't ignore that." Katherine added excitedly.

"BUT." Albert started.

"But what?" I asked.

"But what about football. We just need them to join and everyone else will, but they haven't joined yet. Our 'rally' is going to have two clubs/sports." Albert put air quotes around 'rally'. We all turned to Spot and he sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

"I mean, I could try to win them over. They'se want to know we won't quit with just one push." He explained.

"We won't though!" Romeo argued. Spot shrugged.

"I've told them that, and they say they don't think we will."

"How can we prove it to them?" Davey asked.

"We could try to do something before the rally," Finch suggested. "Maybe something small, but big enough to get attention and maybe get Pulitzer to try and stop us." Then the idea hit me.

"Can't we just advertise? Like with posters and flyers. Those are already annoying, and if they are AGAINST Pulitzers rules, that will make him want to take them down even more." I suggested. The gang mulled it over a little.

"That could work, it gets the word out, shows we won't quit, and will get under Pulitzers skin," Jack agreed. Murmurs of agreement were heard thought the group.

"The posters and flyers could be designed by Jack because he can draw," Davey proposed, to which Jack blushed a little.

"And we can hand 'em out and hang 'em up before, during, and after school." Spot joined in. We all nodded, smiling and working out the last few details. The plan was coming together, and it looked beautiful.


	28. Dates

TW:

Davey POV  
I walked outside of the hospital, chatting with Romeo and Finch.

"Okay, but Phineas and Ferb is a classic!" I argued.

"I've never seen it." Finch said, putting his hands up defensively.

"Hoooooooooowwwwwww?! There are over one hundred episodes and it lasted for YEARS and you haven't seen one episode?" Romeo said in disbelief. Finch shrugged.

"I guess I just never got into it," They continued to debate, and I added a few comments, until Romeo convinced Finch to watch at least one episode. I felt someone tap my arm and turned to see Jack.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," He replied. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house tomorrow, and help me work on the posters?" I smiled and nodded.

"I would love too! What time?"

"How about 1-3?" Jack suggested.

"Sure, I don't have anything then and I can make sure all of this is good with my family." Jack smiled a nodded. Race called him over to a car and he waved goodbye. I heard a little bit of what Race said, right before my mom's car pulled up and I got in the front seat.

"-you'se gotta date?!" Race said mockingly. Jack punched him and said something I didn't catch. My heart soared a little, but I made sure not to let it get to happy. They could be talking about someone else. Or they are talking about you. But you saw how Jack reacted so he obviously doesn't think its a date, nor does he want it to. I internally debated with myself, until Les snapped me out of it.

"DAVEYYYYYY!" He yelled in my ear. He must have leaned forward and around the seat to be able to do that. I jumped and glared at him.

"What?!"

"Mom asked what plans you have this weekend." Les said in a normal voice.

"A friend invited me over tomorrow from 1-3 I informed."

"Who?" My mom questioned. I mumbled a name, but apparently she didn't hear. "Who is it honey?"

"Jack," I mumbled, barely audible. Apparently it was not quiet enough, for Les grinned like an idiot.

"OoOo a date!" He said.

"No! We are working on a project!" I snapped. Les giggled, and I heard him mutter something along the lines of "sure you are". I swear I wanted to punch him right now. I refrained from doing so as my mom asked me a question.

"Where does he live?"

"I will... actually need to text him and ask that." I said, confused on why I hadn't asked Jack in the first place. You were too shocked he actually asked you to do something with him alone. My brain instantly replied. I ignored that thought and focused instead on the conversation Les and Sarah were having.

"You're in 7th grade!" Sarah said, sounding exasperated.

"Thats old enough!" Les argued.

"You have a girlfriend. In 7th grade. What do you hold hands in the hallway?" Sarah mocked. Les stuck his tongue out at her.

"No, we are going to start going out on real dates. Like movies!"

"I bet all the gossip around school is about you. Les and this random girl, will they or won't they." I said, faking a headline. Les grumbled and looked out the window while Sarah and I laughed.

Soon we made it to our house, and went inside. Sarah and I had already finished our minimal homework, but Les still had some from a "teacher that feels the need to quiz you on everything and anything". I noticed Sarah texting someone and questioned who.

"Oh? Just Katherine." She responded. I raised an eyebrow.

"You know being twins means I can tell when you are hiding something." I looked at her. Her cheeks got a little red and I smiled triumphantly. "I knew it! Something happened between you and Katherine? Spill!" I said, propping myself up on my arms.

"Fiiiiiiine. You CANNOT tell anyone... but we may or may not be planing to go on a date tomorrow." I smiled at this.

"Where doing what?" I asked.

"You sound like an overprotective dad." Sarah joked. "And just a walk in the park." I nodded.

"If she ever breaks your heart or cheats, tell me and I will soak her." I warned. Sarah chuckled.

"Hopefully that will not be needed, but I will." She paused then smirked at me. "Now what about YOUR date with Jack?"


	29. Wishful or Secret

TW:

Jack POV  
You know that feeling you get when you do something stupid, but in the moment it feels right and you're still happy about it? Thats what I am feeling right now. I just asked Davey to come over alone... I'm gonna be such a mess.

"So," Race started as I walked over. "I didn't know you'se gotta date?" He mocked. I punched his arm.

"No! We are just friends hanging out." I grumbled.

"Sureeeee." He said with a smirk.

"What about you and Spot huh? You'se two dating yet?" I sneered. His smirk dropped and he blushed a little.

"I ain't dating Spot! And we is friends, I won't date him..." I heard him mutter something under his breath.

"What was that?" I said with a grin.

"Nothing! Just get in the car!" Race growled and got in the front seat. I laughed and got into the back.

"How is he doing boys?" Medda asked.

"Great! He should be out in two days," I said, relieved.

"That is wonderful! But I do have to ask," Medda said apprehensivly. "Did you ask him about the phone call? And what happened?" I sadly shook my head.

"He said he wasn't ready to talk about it, so I didn't push this time. But I also want to because that could be important!" I sighed, putting my head in my hands.

"We could get someone else to ask," Race threw out the idea.

"Could get annoyed we told or annoyed we made someone else worry about him." I shot it down.

"What about someone close to him, so close he couldn't get mad at them?" Race asked, a small smirk appearing.

"And who is that?" I sneered back.

"Oh c'mon! You'se telling me you haven't seen how Elmer and Crutchie are being while around each other?" Race said, the smirk growing. I reviewed my memories of them, noticing that Race was right. "50 bucks says Crutch will ask Elm on a date first." Race smiled. I rolled my eyes.

"Wrong person, go bet with Albert or Finch. But you'se could be right. That could help."

"Hey it's worth a shot, right?"

Crutchie POV  
I looked around, bored. They had taken the IV out a few days ago, so now my elbow was bandaged. My cast was also now covered in sharpie, not that I minded. I heard a light knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I asked. Elmer walked in and I smiled at him. "Hey, I thought you had left already," I commented. He shrugged.

"I wanted to spend more time with you, but you don't want us being together to get out. I had to act like I was leaving before coming back." He said with a small smirk. I laughed a little.

"Never thought of that," I mumbled.

"Hey, just wondering, why don't you want us to get out?" Elmer asked, looking slightly perplexed. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down so he was sitting next to me on the bed (Crutchie was sitting on the edge too).

"You know if it does our group will be split." He looked confused so I explained. "Jack, Spot, and Davey are my best friends, so they will make sure you won't hurt me. Albert, Specs, and Race are your's, so they will do the same with me. Finch, Romeo, Sarah, and Katherine are all neutral so they will most likely grill us both. All in all, especially with what is going on for now, it's better this way." When I finished he smiled.

"And I never thought about that." Elmer repeated what I had said a little bit ago. I didn't even notice until now that my head was on his shoulder, or that our hands were intwined. I didn't care though. I was actually really happy just sitting here with him. My boyfriend, although a secret one. I heard Elmer laugh and shifted my head to look up at him.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked.

"I just imagined what someone is going to say when they find out. I don't know who, probably Race but anyways, someone will say 'the two little brothers of the group are now dating'." I laughed at this as well.

"Why are we the little brothers?" I pondered. Elmer shrugged.

"I have no idea. Ya know another thing I don't understand?" I hummed in response. "Why I am stuck as just 'Little Brother 2'." I snorted.

"You need to let go of that,"

"Never."


	30. ‘Art Studio’

TW:

Jack POV  
I woke up this morning groggy. I looked over at the clock and checked the time. 12:36, okay. WAIT!!! Davey is coming over in a half an hour!!! My brain suddenly reminded me. I scrambled to get up, throwing on a random shirt and some pants. I flew out of my room and to the bathroom to brush my teeth and my hair.

"Ya finally up?" Race snickered, and I glared.

"You could have woken me." I muttered and he shrugged. I finished and went to my room to clean it up some. When I was done with that I turned my attention to my 'art studio'. It was more of a small random room we couldn't find a use for, but I turned into something better. I looked around, and decided it was clean enough. Just then I heard a buzz on the intercom thing, and Medda went to answer. I couldn't hear the person on the other side, but I did hear,

"Hello Davey! I'll buzz you in!" I frantically checked over the main places we would be in before walking into the living room. Davey was sitting on the couch while Medda was talking to him.

"Hey Dave," I said, his attention moving towards where I was standing.

"Hey Jack! Ready to get to work?" He asked, getting up. I nodded and motioned for him to follow me.

I walked into my 'art studio' and turned to look at him. His eyes opened up wide with wonder as he looked around the room. I looked around with him, noting my mediums shelf. It held chalk, charcoal, watercolors, paints of all kinds and colors, pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, and a bunch of other things I couldn't even see.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed and I chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, what design ideas were you thinking?" I asked, sitting down in one of the two chairs, specifically the one in front of the drawing board. I grabbed a sketching pencil as Davey started to explain.

"I was thinking we could have newspapers all around the edge, looking like they have been thrown into the air and ripped. In the middle we have big fonts saying "Rally Against The Rules" and then under is some subtext saying "Have your clubs join us on Thursday to try and repeal the unfair rules". Is that good?" He asked.

"Brilliant. And we can add more than just newspapers, like beakers, or other science-y things, and books, and stuff like soccer balls and footballs." I added, turning to start drawing. Davey looked over my shoulder and pointed out ideas and improvements.

Soon we had gotten good sketch, and I grabbed a sharpie to start outlining. While I did that, Davey watched in fascination. Soon it was time to add color.

"Watercolors or colored pencils for this?" I asked him, holding it up. He thought for a second before answering with,

"Watercolors would look cooler. And we could watercolor the edges a little brown to make it look like an old-timey newspaper, like the type the newsboys in the newsboys strike of 1899 had." Davey suggested. I nodded and got to work coloring. I added the edges like he suggested and held it up.

"Looks good?"

"Good?! That looks amazing! I will take that and go to my dads work, we can copy it a lot there. I really hope this helps." Davey muttered the last part after carefully grabbing and folding the paper.

"It will. This should be big enough that it will get clubs and sports like the football team to join, ones that other clubs and sports will follow." I insisted. He nodded, a newfound determination glittering his eyes. You should kiss him right now. My brain thought. What?! No, he probably doesn't even like me back! I argued. My internal conflict raged for a few minutes until Davey got a text from his dad that he was outside.

"I have to go now. See you later!" He said and walked out of the room.

"Seeya!" I called back. I slowly put my head in my hands. Why do you want me to do such stupid things? I asked my brain. It replied with, Impulse. I sighed and got up, walking out of the room and turning off the lights. This plan WILL work, and it WILL help.


	31. Agreed.

TW:

Davey POV  
I was slightly dumbfounded by Jack's art studio. It was so beautiful and had so many different art supplies in it. It also had the perfect lighting, even though there wasn't a window, that it looked natural. I snapped out of my daze when he suggested we started working. Faster than I thought, it was already 3 o'clock. I got a text from my dad that he was waiting outside and said goodbye to Jack

"Hey Dad! Thanks for letting me use the copying machine at your work," I said as I slipped into the front seat. He just shrugged.

"I want to help your strike in any way possible, even if it's boring stuff like membership," he joked. I snickered and we sped off towards his work. He had been laid off for a little bit, after an injury, but they let him keep his keycard. They had agreed that once he had healed he could come back to the company, and that seemed to be about a week away.

We got out of the car and walked up to the doors, slipping the keycard over the scanner. We walked inside. The lobby always unnerved me, because all you can hear is your footsteps on the marble floor. We soon got into an elevator and we were taken away from the silence.

Once we got onto his floor, we went towards the copying machine. Many people greeted him warmly, mostly asking why he was here. I would sheepishly answer sometimes, but usually he did the talking.

"How many copies do you need?" He asked as we walked into the copying/printing room.

"I don't know. 300 would probably suffice." I said, running the numbers. He nodded and I placed Jack's drawing on the scanner. After my dad pressed some buttons, the machine came whirring to life and paper started to come out. I picked one up and looked at it, luckily it had copied just fine, and everything looked exactly like the original.

After a few minutes (that felt like hours to me) passed, the copies were done. I picked them up, kind-of surprised at how heavy they were, and walked out of the door. We made it back to the car and I put the papers in the backseat. The drive home was silent except for the soft radio in the background. Once we got home I texted the group chat.

Group Name: The Newsiesssss

Davey: Hey guys! I copied the drawing Jack made, and now we have all of our flyers!

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: awesome

FlirtingMenice: COOOOOOOOOL

LittleBrother1: What do they look like?

Davey: *sends image but i cant draw so use your imagination or if someone really wants to they can draw the flyer but idc*

LittleBrother2: THOSE LOOK SO GOOD

LesbianOfDemise: THATS AMAZING

KingOfBrooklyn: wow

JackBeNimble: calm down its a bunch of papers and random things throw around

BetsAndRaces: 🙄

Finch: still amazing

LittleBrother2: also can i please not be the number two of something?

WarbyParker: You fit the description though

LesbianOfDoom: agreed

LittleBrother1: hehe i guess you were too slow to get first... so you got second place AND second name

JackBeNimble: no offense crutch, but not your best

LittleBrother1: sadly yeah

Davey: Anyways

Davey: How are we going to distribute them Monday?

KingOfBrooklyn: i could put some one the community bulletin board

BetsAndRaces: how do you even know our school has that

KingOfBrooklyn: being football captain means i know EVERY place in this school

FlirtingMenice: cool, but anyways we could put some on teachers doors

WarbyParkers: We could ask Miss Medda and Mr. Denton to put some in their classrooms.

LittleBrother2: we can put some in the cafeteria

Finch: and hallways

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: and outside the school where people hang around a lot

JackBeNimble: i think we figured it out, i guess davey will bring the papers monday and give them to us, and we should just put them any place like that before classes start

BetsAndRaces: Jack and i can go with Medda to school early and help her and Denton put them up in the classrooms

Davey: Perfect. I think we have a plan.

LittleBrother1: Good luck you guys!

KingOfBrooklyn: you will join us soon crutchie

Davey: Agreed

JackBeNimble: dave you and katherine need to have the "agreed club" because that is all you say

LesbianOfDoom: agreed

Finch: no they are going to keep doing this forever now arnt they

Davey: Agreed

FlirtingMenice: nice going jack

LesbianOfDoom: agreed

WarbyParker: I'm going to go before I loose my sanity

Davey: Agreed

LittleBrother2: you two need to stop agreeing. Anyways i gtg byeeeee

A/N: this is DEFINITELY a filler chapter but i wanted to wait a little until the advertising began


	32. Early Morning Meeting

TW: Cussing

Race POV  
I woke up, groaning a little into my pillow. That is, until I realized what day it was.

"Shit!" I mumbled, getting up and checking the time. 8:03, I still have a lot of time. None of the other guys know, but I'm going to hang out with Spot at the park in, like, two hours. We both agreed on a earlier time because it was cooler, but still warm, and less crowded. I was lucky, because nobody in the gang should find out. Jack was going to the hospital today to hang out with Crutchie, as were Davey, Elmer, Sarah, and Katherine. The rest of the gang had gone together yesterday and it was... chaotic.

I threw the now tangled covers off my legs and got up. I stretched my back and heard a satisfying pop. I threw on my shirt and suspenders, adding a newsboys cap. I silently slipped into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and most of my hair. After a few minutes of a battle against a section of it, I gave up and decided to shove it under my cap.

I came out of the bathroom and to the kitchen. Medda was cooking something and it smelled delicious.

"Hi Miss Medda!" I said, more cheerful than normal.

"Well what has you so happy today?" She asked. I shrugged, not wanting to give it away.

"Nothing much. I guess I'm just excited for the day." Medda raised an eyebrow at this and I shrugged once more. I sat down at the counter, which was where we usually had breakfast (except for special occasions or something like the first day of school). Medda handed me a plate of steaming hot pancakes. I grabbed the syrup and started to drown them.

"Do you want pancakes or soup!?" Medda exclaimed when she spotted my plate. I chuckled and stopped... for now.

"Syrup makes everything better," I stated.

"Really? What about... jellybeans?" Medda asked.

"Yes!"  
"Pop-Tarts?"  
"Totally,"  
"Chocolate chips?"  
"Yep,"  
"Spaghetti?"  
"Buddy the Elf says yes and so do I."  
"Broccoli?"  
"Anything can make that better,"

This persisted for a while, Medda naming off foods and me stating why syrup made it better. I didn't know Jack had walked into the room until he said,

"Okay, what is going on?" I alugehd at this and Medda answered.

"Race here says syrup makes everything better," Jack sat in a seat next to me and Medda handed him some pancakes.

"I wouldn't say EVERYTHING but most things yes,"

"Okay name one food that syrup won't make better," I challenged. Jack yawned a little and started talking.

"Steak?"  
"Okay, maybe not a LOT better-"  
"Pizza?"  
"I guess not..."  
"What about more syrup?" This one had me dumbfounded.

"I have no idea."

"See, MOST but not ALL." Jack said with a cocky smile. The little shit was so proud of himself for winning an argument about syrup. I rolled my eyes and finished my pancakes.

"Hey Miss Medda?" I asked, to which she hummed a response. "Can I got out today with a few friends, from ten to sometime?"

"Where?"

"Just the park down the street,"

"Sure dear, stay safe and text me when you are leaving the park and when you get home, though."

"Who is this friend?" Jack questioned. I didn't want to say just Spot, because knowing Jack he would tease me about it.

"Just a few from the gang," I don't think that was technically a lie, right?. It just wasn't the whole truth (LIES OF OMISSION LOGAN TAUGHT ME WELL). I checked the time and saw it was already 9:15. I went to my room and grabbed my phone, keeping it in the charger as I played a few youtube videos. These ones were cool because they were made by some kids at our school, and they were in our theatre. It was called Sanders Sides and was quite addictive.

I finished watching an episode and saw it was 9:52. Shit, I might be late. I said a quick goodbye to Medda and a now fully awake Jack and slipped out of the door. I walked down the street and into the small park. It was pretty foggy today, but in a nice way. I soon sat down at our designated meeting meeting point, and waited for Spot.


	33. Advertising

TW: Swearing

~~~Time Skippy to Monday btw~~~

Davey POV  
I woke up, not to my alarm surprisingly. I always wake up early on days I'm really nervous or really excited for, so that was probably the case for today. I can't tell wether I am excited or nervous, so I will have to figure that out as the day goes on.

I check the time and see it is 6:38. Reasonable time to wake up. I throw the covers off of me and am immediately greeted with a rush of cold air. With a small shiver, I get up and out of bed. After getting dressed and getting a comb through my hair, I go to the kitchen. My dad is up and eating breakfast.

"You're up early," he comments. I don't usually get up this early, so I don't usually get to see him in the mornings, but when I do it's fun, "What are you excited or nervous for?"

"The advertising thing. I know they can't kick us out or anything, but still." I say, my words still a little bit slurred together from sleep. My dad nodded while taking a bite of his cereal.

"Hey, the best you can do is try." He assured me. I nodded in agreement, getting a small boost of confidence from it. We talked for a little bit about random things, but around 7:15 he had to go. 

"Bye David,"

"Bye Dad." Annnnnnd now I'm bored. I decide to just play on my phone until Sarah or Mom or Les gets up. Finally, around 7:45, they all wake up.

"Morning," I say to them, and Sarah grumbles back a response. "You might want to eat quickly, we only have 15 minutes." I say with a small smirk. I hear a quite "shit" from Sarah as she shoved food into her mouth then runs to get ready in the bathroom. Les does the same and I faintly hear their argument. Soon it is 7:58 and Sarah is finally ready. Our mom ushers us to the car and we cram in.

Both of our backpacks are filled with extra paper, the flyers to be exact. Jack and Race were going earlier to help put the flyers in Medda's and Denton's classrooms, and also to hang up the posters. Once we got to school I saw Race and Jack talking at the table. Sarah and I slid into our 'assigned' seats. The conversation was on... odd topics, but it was enough to sustain us until the rest of the gang (minus Crutchie) was there. We divided the papers amongst ourselves, and decided where specifically to go. I checked the time and saw that there was 15 minutes until the bell.

"15 minutes left guys, I say we go ahead and put them up." I comment. People nodded and our group disperses. I have a roll of tape, and mostly tape the flyers up on walls around the hallways. Just as I finish my stack, the bell rings and I make my way to science (if this is wrong idc i cant remember their schedules). Time seems to fly, because it feels like seconds when the bell rings. Then it feels like a few more seconds until the lunch bell rings. This is when we can really see our damage. I get to the cafeteria and see everyone else there. Once they see me, they wave and I speed walk over.

"How did handing them out go?" I asked Sarah, Katherine, Elmer, and Romeo. They were the four handing them out during the day.

"Only have half left, which is perfect." Romeo responds.

"I got rid of most of mine. Apparently everyone in my fourth period was in a club or sport of some kind." Katherine said with a small laugh. Sarah and Elmer nodded along to what they had said.

"What about the posters?" Finch asked, voicing what I was thinking.

"Went up easy, can't miss 'em." Race said with a small smirk.

"Putting them up was easy," Spot said, and Albert and I nod in agreement.

"Well done, by the way." Specs says, turning to Jack. Jack blushed a little as people agreed.

"It wasn't the best art really,"

"If that wasn't the best artwork I want to see what is," I comment, getting a few breathy chuckles and some nods. I smile seeing (almost) everyone together, hopeful, happy, and excited about the rally. It's going to work.


	34. Principal Pulitzer

TW: Use of Deadnames

Jack POV  
After lunch, I headed off to 3rd period with Finch and Specs. A smile was plastered on my face. As I walked down the halls, I noticed people taking some flyers down and putting them in their bags.

"Its working!" Finch said excitedly. I chuckled and nodded.

"It is." Specs stated, and Finch lightly punched him in the arm. Their fun bickering was what I listened to until we got to class. We took our usual seats as the teacher started to bore on. The lesson was suddenly stopped, when the class phone rang. The teacher picked it up, looking and sounding annoyed. Once they set it down they turned to the class.

"Mr. Kelly, you are needed in the office." They said. I shot a worried glance to Specs and Finch, who returned it. I gathered my stuff and walked out of class, hearing the teacher begin again as the door shut. I walked through the eerily silent halls to the office. The secretary, Ms. Hannah I believe, was typing away at a computer.

"Umm, I was supposed to come here?" I said after waiting for a little. Ms. Hannah jumped a little then nodded.

"Principal Pulitzer will see you in a few minutes." I nodded and watched the clock. Soon there was a buzz on Ms. Hannah's little mini-intercom thing.

"He can come in," A sort of gravelly voice I attributed to Pulitzer said. Hannah nodded to me with a small thumbs up. I returned the nod and stepped into the principals office. "Mr. Kelly, yes?" Pulitzer asked.

"That's my name." I commented, taking a seat in the chair he motioned to.

"Yes. It is also the name of the person who made these drawings, are they not?" He said, holding up a flyer.

"I did draw those." I answered again.

"What a shame." He started. "You were doing so well this year! Not getting in trouble as much," I squirmed a little in my seat at this comment. "And even keeping your friends out of trouble. Now, everyone who made these or put them up could have detention, or if I feel it necessary, suspension and even expulsion."

"What?! Why?!" I exclaimed.

"You did not ask to put these up. Simple rule, quite useful." Pulitzer said with a smirk. I glared at him as he continued. "Now, I have a deal for you. You talk against this... 'strike' at the rally."

"Uh no," I said, cutting him off.

"Ah, but you didn't let me finish now did you. Either you speak against it, or you get expelled." He paused, probably for dramatic effect. I scoffed. "Now I know you are Mr. Tough Guy. You could handle it. But what about your friend Charlie, or Davey! They would both be expelled too. That would hurt their families a lot. And all your other friends would be so disappointed in you like Albert, Antonio, Sean, even Robin and Juliette!"

"First off, it is Finch and Romeo. Second! Why them?! They didn't do anything!" I growled. Pulitzer just shrugged off my first comment.

"They helped, and that's all that matters." He put his hands on his desk and faced me. "So what is it going to be, hm? Speak against this movement? Or get you and all your friends expelled? The choice is yours. I will give you until tomorrow to answer me, and if you don't I will just expel you all. Now go back to class."

I scrambled to get out of the office, saying a quick goodbye to Ms. Hannah. Does he actually mean it?! I mean, he could. It wasn't even a major offense, but I guess we did do it AGAINST him. My brain debated with itself as I walked down the empty halls. I silently walked back into class, taking my seat. Finch and Specs tried to ask about what happened, but I shook away their questions, saying I couldn't answer. It was partially true, because I didn't know what Pulitzer would do if he knew the others knew. What am I going to do?! I want to make sure my friends aren't expelled, but it would also break their trust. I sighed and made my way out of class as the bell rang, this was going to be a long mind debate.


	35. Wait it Out

TW:

Crutchie POV  
This is my last afternoon at the hospital, and I'm half happy half terrified. I also feel stupid and weak for feeling terrified, so thats great. I am leaving later tonight, after a few tests are run. Pretty much they just need to know I don't have a concussion.

I have also been debating with myself all day. Debating wether to tell somebody about my dad or not. It could help. But if the person doesn't care and my dad finds out... If I tell Jack he will care, but he might go and attack. If I tell Elmer he will care, and will try to get me away from him, but I can't do that without my dad finding out. I sighed as the thoughts raced through my head. I know the best person to tell will probably be Jack, because we have been best friends for years. I do want to tell my boyfriend, but I don't want to seem like a burden.

I finally make a decision. I will tell Jack... just in a few days. Not right now when he has the rally to worry about, but maybe after. I'll just have to keep it together.

"Hello Charlie!" The peppy voice of my nurse said as he walked in. "We are going to check if you have a concussion, just to see if we need you to rest. We are definitely letting you out later tonight, it just could mean a day or two in bed." He explained and I nodded. He asked me a few questions, mostly if I had had headaches or dizziness or trouble focusing. I said yes, but that it was before I came to the hospital. He shined a light in my eyes a few times, then wrote some things down.

"Okay, so you seemed to have recovered from your concussion! You might still have a few symptoms for a little while, but they should stop after about 3 weeks. If they don't tell your doctor. You must be careful not to re-open your stitches, but other than that you can go!" I smiled and thanked him. Once he had left I got up carefully and packed away the few things I had. I also, begrudgingly, texted my dad that I would be home tonight and that some friends were going to be with me. I never got a response, only got a 'read'.

I turned off my phone, but before I did I checked the time. It was 3:30, so I knew the gang would be coming soon. Jack, Elmer, and Davey had decided to help me get settled back at home, although I insisted they didn't have to. I would leave around 4:30, and I personally hopes I would never be back there. I sat on the edge of my bed waiting for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, until the gang crashed in. All of them. Soon everyone was sitting in every possible place in my room and we were all chatting and laughing together.

"Okay! Unpopular opinion time!" Race yelled out. "Pineapple is amazing on pizza." This elicited many shouts of protests and many nods of agreement. I was personally non-partial, for I had never had pineapple on pizza. I looked over to Jack, who was sitting next to Davey and Elmer, to see what he thought. As I looked, I noticed the glassy and far off look in his eyes. He seemed to be debating with himself like I was earlier. I tapped his shoulder and he snapped out of it.

"Jack? Are you okay? What is wrong?" I whispered to him.

"It's nothing Crutchie," He assured, although I was anything but convinced.

"Something is wrong or troubling you, I can tell, and it could help to tell someone about it."

"Hypocrite," He muttered a little. I shrugged it off, mostly because he was right.

"Please tell me Jack?" I pleaded.

"I can't." He stated, his voice firm. I sighed and turned back to the pizza conversation, knowing I would get nothing out of him. I really did want to help, he looked very conflicted, but if he didn't want me to then I couldn't. I would have to wait it out.


	36. Newsies Monopoly

TW: Not Really Talk About but Signs of Abuse

Jack POV  
Of course Crutchie would tell something was up with me. He always could, just as I could do the same with him. And of COURSE I couldn't tell him about it, because Pulitzer didn't want me to and because I knew what he would say.

"You don't need to worry about us," Is my best guess. But I did worry about them. So I just shook my head and told him to forget about it, and that I was fine. I took a deep breath and cleared my head, focusing on what was happening now. Elmer was driving me, Davey, and Crutchie to Crutchie's house to help him unpack.

"What is your room like?" Davey asked Crutchie.

"It's not much. Grey-blue-ish walls and a hardwood floor. I have a grey stained desk I love and my bed frame is the same color. You're also going to see it soon, so I don't get why you're asking." Crutchie laughed. Soon everyone joined in, his laugh was contagious. 

We soon made it to a small apartment complex. "Here we are." Crutchie said. We got out of the car and started towards the building. Crutchie didn't really need us to help him get back, there wasn't anything to move and it wouldn't be traumatic, I think he just wanted to hang out. I had only been to his apartment a fee times before, so it was still pretty new to me. We used the elevator and soon got to his apartment. Crutchie pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.

"Where are your parents?" Davey asked.

"My dad is at work right now, should be coming home in a few minutes. Unless he went out with... colleagues after, in which he probably won't be here until later tonight." Crutchie said with a shrug. I caught the way he paused before saying 'colleagues'.

"And your mom?" Davey asked. I punched him a little and gave him a 'shut up' look.

"Jack calm down." Crutchie said, catching my look. "She died a few years back." He said like it was nothing. Davey gave a little 'oh' and went silent. We made our way down a hall and into a room. I noticed the doors hinges were a little broken, and the lock was completely broken.

"Wow, your room is cool!" Elmer exclaimed when we walked in. It was pretty cool. The walls held pictures of the gang and different posters, mostly of musicals. He had a small dresser and mirror, which held even more pictures of Crutchie and various friends. His bed was a bed with a bookshelf on the back, which was filled to the brim. Crutchie laughed a little at his expression.

"Eh, its just a room." He shrugged, while both Elmer and Davey kept looking around. I knew I had looked like that only a moment ago, but I didn't care.

"So Crutchie," I started as he flopped onto his bed. "First, don't reopen your stitches." I chided. I hear a mumbled sentence, something that sounded like 'You sound like Davey'. "Second, what do you wanna do?"

"I have some board games, if you want?" He said, sitting up. "I actually got a new type of Monopoly a few weeks ago."

"OoOo what is it?" Elmer asked. Crutchie grabbed a box from his bookshelf and set it on his bed.

"Newsies Monopoly, sounds cool." Davey commented.

"Yeah, instead of places you can buy characters from Newsies! It was pretty cool to see, all of the gangs names are on it." Crutchie said. Weird. I thought, but shrugged it off. We started playing, and kept playing for a while.

"Aha!" Elmer exclaimed as I moved my piece. Right. Into. His. Property. "1,000 bucks." Davey had already been driven out, and Crutchie only had about 400 dollars left.

"I don't have 1,000!" I groaned. Elmer shrugged and held out his hand. I slapped the rest of my money in his and he grinned.

"Another one down." After only one move, Crutchie was out and Elmer held the whole board.

"I didn't know you were so good!" Crutchie commented.

"Yeah, what strategy did you use?" Davey wondered.

"I will never say." Elmer said mysteriously, and I scoffed.

"I don't care what it is, as long as you remind me to never play with you again." I said. Davey checked the time then sighed.

"It's already 11:00. I should head back home." Elmer and I agreed.

"Bye!" Crutchie said as we exited the flat.

"Bye!" We responded. Yeah, I'm gonna count this as a good night.


	37. Conversations

TW:

Davey POV  
I shut the car door behind me. My mom had had a work meeting so I was able to drive Sarah and I to school today. It was uneventful, like most drives. I parked the car and we got out, quickly finding the gang. I sat down in my normal spot, and we were pretty early because not many people were there. In total it was Finch, Specs, Albert, and Katherine.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" I asked as I sat down.

"Just talking. I mean, right before you came we were talking about how Marvel is better than DC." Albert informed.

"Does anyone here think DC is better?" Sarah asked. All of them shook their heads.

"Good! I thought I was going to have to shun someone." I joked and they laughed.

"What about the rest of the gang?" Sarah questioned.

"Everyone except Elmer thinks Marvel us better." Katherine stated.

"Elmer thinks DC is better?!" I exclaimed.

"Nah, he is just neutral." Finch said. I nodded with a breathy laugh. Someone jumped into their seat, and when I say jumped I mean literally jumped, just then.

"HEY GUYS!" Romeo pretty much yelled. Everyone covered their ears slightly.

"Romeo, babe, why are you yelling?" Specs asked.

"I'M YELLING?" Romeo asked. "IF I AM SORRY, MY CARPOOLING FRIEND WAS BLASTING MUSIC SO MUCH THAT I STILL HAVE RINGING!" The group laughed at this.

"Also yes. You are very much yelling." Spot, who had just sat down with us, said with a chuckle. Romeo looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it and just shut his mouth. We chatted for a little bit, while Romeo's volume slowly went down.

"Hello!" We heard two cheerful voices say. I turned my head around to see Elmer and Crutchie making their way to the table.

"Dangit!" Albert said with a sigh. I looked at him, confused.

"What?" Sarah asked, voicing my thoughts.

"I can't cuss anymore, now that they are here!" Albert grumbled. Romeo and Finch started laughing their heads off while the rest of us joined in, although we thought it was less funny. Crutchie sat down with a plop and an eye-roll. Elmer sat next to him. Now we were only waiting on Jack and Race. Jack sat down next to me, as if my thoughts had brought him here.

"Hey Jack, where is Race?" I asked.

"Race is going to be a little late." Jack answered while trying, and failing, to stifle a smirk. Just then Race made a grand entrance. It included him dropping from the branch onto our table, and then when he got up grabbing Spot's hat.

"Wow." Was all people said. Spot looked angry and got up slowly.

"Oh shii-oot." Race said when he noticed. He scrambled off the table and started to sprint.

"GIVE ME MY HAT BACK HIGGINS!" Spot fumed and chased after. Race made it back to the table and Spot caught up with him. Race suddenly smirked and held his arm and hand up high, the ones holding the hat. Spot stopped near him and sighed angrily.

"Oooo Race is playing the hight card." Romeo commentated.

"Spot looks furious." Specs added. Spot glared at them. He suddenly jumped and snatched his hat out of Races hand, shoving him away and sitting back down.

"Well whatever happened to bromance!" Race joked as he went to his spot at the table. We talked about random things, most of which did not matter at all. I did notice one thing, that Jack was acting a little strange. He was acting like his mind was elsewhere. I shrugged it off for now, telling myself it wasn't my business and that he didn't need help. The bell rang, jerking us out of our conversation. I got up and started walking with Jack, Crutchie, and Elmer towards math. I noticed that Crutchie and Elmer were acting a little bit differently to each other, not like we were with avoiding Crutchie's cast or something like that, but something I couldn't really place my finger on.

"Okay, no its 17 because you have to subtract the 4 AFTER multiplying. Have you ever learned GEMDAS?" Crutchie told Elmer, who rolled his eyes.

"I have, but that is not right! It's..." I drowned out their conversation with my thoughts, which were leaned heavily towards the other boy next to me. I sighed a little as we walked into class, and shoved the thoughts out of my mind.

A/N: Its a FILLER! FILLER NIGHT! Dudhbdudhdhdudhjs (lol sorry not sorry had to do a parody to thriller) this is definitely more of a random filler chapter


	38. Answer?

TW:

Crutchie POV  
I sighed happily when I sat down in my chair. It was nice being back at school and with my friends. My dad was hung over and passed out this morning, so I managed to slip by him. Elmer sat down next to me and Jack sat on the other side. I could tell something was bothering him big time.

"Jack, and you sure you're okay?" I asked, tapping his shoulder.

"I'm fine." He insisted. "But I need to do something, so tell the other guys I'm going to be late for lunch."

"What? Why?" Elmer, who had been listening, asked.

"I have to take care of something." Jack answered vaguely.

"That is not a good excuse." Davey pointed out, joining our conversation.

"It's not supposed to be an excuse." Jack snapped a little. Then he sighed. "Look, I can't tell you why, but just know it's important."

"Fine," I sighed and Elmer and Davey nodded. I turned my attention to the board where the teacher was working on a math problem from the homework. It was the one Elmer an dI had been debating about.

"... so the answer would be 17." I tuned into the teachers rambling then. I turned to Elmer with a smug expression on.

"Boom, look who was right." He scoffed and rolled his eyes, but I knew he wasn't actually mad at me. I made sure nobody was looking and grabbed his hand under the table, just because I wanted to hold hands. He smiled at me and I smiled back. I turned my attention back to the lesson, focusing on that for the rest of class.

Jack POV  
I felt bad for lying to them. But I can't tell them the truth. I had finally come to a decision, even though I was very reluctant about it. I could tell Crutchie and Davey were especially concerned, but had to push it away. I had to do this. Before I knew it, class was over and the bell had rung. I walked out of class and towards my spanish without talking to anyone.

I sat down in spanish, it was the only class I had without anyone from the gang. Thats a good thing today, no questions for now. I pushed away the thoughts and focused on spanish, for I wasn't that good at it.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

I stepped out of my classroom with a sigh. I turned and headed towards the office, against the crushing crowd of people going to the cafeteria. I finally made it as the halls cleared out, and opened the door. Hannah was there typing something.

"Hey, I need to see Pulitzer." I said. Her head snapped up, but her gaze softened a little when it landed on me.

"He is ready for you, and hey. Make the right choice." She said with a smile. I nodded and walked into his office. I guess he told her about it, or maybe she was just listening in. I wondered as I sat down.

"Ah, Mr. Kelly. Glad to see you." Pulitzer said, his voice was completely drenched in sarcasm. "I trust you have thought over what I have said to you?"

"Yeah, I have." I say, acting nonchalant. On the inside I was tearing myself up with anxiety and over the decision I had come to. "And it may shock you a little." I said with a small smirk. Pulitzer whipped around to face me, as he had previously been facing a window.

"Are you trying to find a loophole? Because there is none!" He assured and I laughed a little.

"I hadn't thought of that, thanks for the idea. But no. I haven't thought of a loophole. I have an answer, a real one." I said seriously. His eyes pricked with curiosity.

"Do tell me. Remember it was between all your friends being expelled, or you talking against this 'strike' at the rally." Pulitzer informed. I scoffed.

"Yeah I remembered what the options were. There were only two, you think I'd forget?" I laughed, while he looked ready to murder.

"Yes, I get it. Now would you please just spit it out so I can start planning either reasons to expel you and your friends or words you should say." He growled. I gulped slowly and took a small breath. This was it, and I hated it.

"I will speak against the strike."


	39. Still Friends... Right?

TW: Little Talk About Murder

Jack POV  
Pulitzer smiled wickedly.

"Perfect." He cooed, still smiling. I wanted to punch him so back, and wipe the smirk off his face. "Come by tomorrow and I will give a list of things to say, and you have to say them." Pulitzer growled the second part.

"You make me sick." I snarled. Pulitzer raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not the one betraying my friends. Speaking of, they must be missing you. Run along and remember, if you tell ANYONE I will expel them all." I got up angrily and stormed out, still knowing Pulitzer was smiling over his victory.

"I figure you made the right choice then?" Hannah said as I walked by. I stopped and looked at her.

"How was that the right choice?! I'm betraying my friends! They will hate me." She said something else but I didn't hear it, too far into my spiraling thoughts. I said a quick goodbye which she returned and walked out, towards the cafeteria.

Davey POV  
Race, Albert, Romeo, Elmer, Finch, and Specs were all talking about something random and stupid all lunch. I couldn't focus on it, not that I would care or understand it. Crutchie had said Jack would be late, but wouldn't tell him why. I wondered why, and I knew he had something on his mind this morning.

As if he read my thoughts, Jack walked into the cafeteria and towards the table. He looked anxious and even a bit scared. And angry. Very angry. He sat down at the table and the gangs conversation ceased. 

"Jack, are you okay? Why were you late?" Crutchie spoke up, voicing everyones thoughts.

"I'm fine and it was nothing." He insisted, looking away. I shot a look at the gang, and none fo them believed it either.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked.

"We are here if it's important." Katherine added.

"I'm fine!" Jack snapped. Everyone was a little taken aback by it. "Can we just talk about something else, maybe the rally. Any news?" He said, changing the subject.

"The football team thought that was a good enough stunt, we've got them on our side." Spot said with a smile. This made all of the table start cheering quietly.

"So we have pretty much everyone!" Albert said with a smile. "That's awesome!"

"Yeah, Pulitzer has to listen to us now!" Race added, bumping Albert's shoulder. The chatter kept on going, all of it cheerful. I focused on Jack, who wasn't joining in. He looked very regretful, but I didn't understand as to why.

"Jack," I whispered and his head snapped towards me. "Are you okay?" I asked forcefully. He glared a little then sighed.

"If I did something bad would you still be my friend?" He asked, not answering my question.

"O-of course!" I sputtered. He nodded and went back to staring at the table. I sighed and dropped my question, knowing he wouldn't answer it.

Just as the conversation was coming to an end, the bell rang. I got up and walked over to where Spot was waiting. For being so short, he was very fast.

"Hey!" He said.

"Hey," I mumbled a greeting. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with you? I thought Jack was the only one having a fit."

"It's something about Jack, a question he asked me. He said, 'If I did something bad would you still be my friend?'." I explained and Spot nodded.

"What didja say?" He speculated.

"I said yes, of course." Spot raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you say that?" He asked. I gaped at him a little.

"Why would I say no! He's my friend no matter what." I stated firmly. Spot shrugged and looked ahead.

"I'm only saying you should have said maybe, depends on what you did."

"And why is that?" I growled.

"If he came to you tomorrow and said 'I murdered someone your loved, but we are still friends because you said so right?' What would your answer be then? Hmmm? That you are friends no matter what he did?" Spot asked. I mulled it over for a second, before giving in a sighing.

"I guess you are right, I wouldn't want to be friends after something like that." I mumbled in agreement. By then we had gotten to class. The teacher explained today would be used to finish a project we had, but because I had already finished I used it as free time. A perfect time to think about what is up with Jack.


	40. One More Day

TW:

Jack POV  
I woke up early this morning, just like yesterday. And probably tomorrow. My nerves were getting the better of me. I just felt so awful for betraying my friends. And I know it was so save them from being expelled, but it still felt awful. I sighed and smacked my alarm when it started blaring. I got up, already ready, and headed to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth.

"You're up early," Race commented. I nodded, and started walking out of the door. Race grabbed my arm.

"Are you okay? You keep seeming... not here." Race said as he searched for the right words. I shrugged him off.

"I'm fine. And I'm not spacing out." I said. Race laughed a little.

"That is not true at all. Something is on your mind big time. I'm not the only one who has noticed. Why can't you just tell me?" Race pleaded slightly. I glared at him.

"It's none of your business," I snarled and walked away. I went to the kitchen and sat down, reading the note Medda left. She had to go early because the auditions were in a few days and she needed to work. I grabbed a waffle and toasted it as Race walked in, glaring at me. I returned the glare and he grabbed some cereal. Once we both were ready we walked out together, because even though we were mad both wanted the other safe. We got to school and sat down, not talking to each other.

"Wow, what happened to you two?" Finch asked, pointing to me and Race.

"We got in an argument." I said simply. The gang shrugged and took the answer, going back to their conversation.

~~~Time Of the Skips~~~

It was now theatre, and I was actually happy. I walked in and went to where the other actors were hanging out.

"I'm so nervous! They are so soon!" Davey was saying while talking to Elmer and Thomas.

"I know right?! I feel like I haven't had time to memorize my song!" Thomas agreed. Elmer put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't you already know it by heart?" He asked. Thomas sighed then nodded with a laugh. I assumed they were talking about the auditions. "You two have it easier too! You both are doing popular musicals, Be More Chill isn't as well known."

"And that makes it easier how?" Davey asked.

"Yeah, it just means if we mess up even a little bit, a lot more people will notice." Elmer backed him up.

"I guess you are right," Thomas said. By then I had finished unpacking my things and walked over to them.

"Hey guys!" I said. They greeted back to me. I saw Thomas shoot a look to Davey, who glared in response, but I couldn't figure out what the look was.

"You're doing Dancing Through Life right?" Thomas asked and I nodded. "That's gotta be hard."

"Eh, I've already heard it so many times." I said with a shrug. "Who are you guys trying out for?"

"I wanna be Evan!" Thomas answered.

"Jared seems cool to me," Davey responded.

"I'm just going for ensemble." Elmer said with a shrug. Just then, Medda started explained what class was going to be. She said it was a free day for the second half, and first half was working with partners on a project. One partner had to be a actor and the other had to be a techie, so most techies had a lot of actor partners. I paired up with Davey, Romeo, and Albert and we got to work.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

Finally, the school day was over. Race and I hopped into Medda's car after newspaper club.

"So boys, you ready for the rally tomorrow?" Medda asked.

"Yeah!" Race said excitedly. Hearing about the rally made the folded paper in my pocket feel much heavier.

"Yeah," I mumbled in agreement. I stayed silent the rest of the drive home, just looking out the window. When we did get home, I went straight to my room. I unfolded the paper and looked it over some. I then finished my homework and went outside to eat dinner. By then it was pretty late and I decided to try and get some sleep. I laid down and closed my eyes. My last thought before drifting off was this: Your friends will HATE you now.....

A/N: SORRY for all of the time skips i just didnt feel like adding that stuff and really wanted to get to the rally


	41. It Is Time

TW: Used 'Crip' as Slurr, Reference to Abuse, Tiny Innuendo

Crutchie POV  
I woke up, very excited. The rally is today! I thought, quickly getting up. I got dressed and brushed my teeth and hair. When I walked out into the hallway, my happy spirit was immediately diminished. There stood my dad with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Where. Were. You?" He growled menacingly. I gulped and took a small step back.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked hesitantly.

"Where were you a night ago? For three days you were gone. And then I get a giant bill." He had an evil smile on his face and took a step closer. I took another step back and my back hit the wall.

"I was..." I trailed off.

"ANSWER ME YOU LOUSY CRIP!" He roared, taking three steps closer.

"The hospital!" I yelled out, fear seeping into my words.

"Why were you there? Did you tell them about me? Did you!"

"N-no I didn't. I had gotten hurt badly and my friends took me there," My voice was hoarse. He took a step closer, and was now in my face.

"Well then, I won't hurt you TOO badly today," He growled and raised his fist.

Davey POV  
I woke up refreshed and ready for the day. I got dressed and went to grab a bowl of cereal. Les was already eating, but Sarah was nowhere to be found. I walked to her room and saw her sleeping peacefully.

"SARAH GET UP!" I yelled in her face. She shot up quickly, then groaned.

"Why did you have to YELL!?" She snarled back.

"Had to wake you up, also you should be excited!" I explained. She raised an eyebrow and attempted to run the sleep from her eyes.

"And why is that?"

"The rally is today." Her eyes shot open at this and she threw her covers off.

"Move it loser," She said and shoved me, literally, out of her room. She shut the door in my face and I smiled, satisfied with my work. I brushed my teeth and waited for her by the door. Soon she was out and walking towards me. She grabbed an apple and took a bite on the way out. I opened the door and walked out, closing it before she could walk out. I heard a small thud and the door opened.

"Do you mind?" She hissed. I laughed.

"You're my twin! I have to prank you."

"That was not a prank,"

"Was to."

"Was not."

"Was to."

"A prank is thought out and actually funny, not just slamming the door in someone's face!" Sarah said while face-palming. I just snickered.

"What ever you say. Also! How did your date with Katherine go?" I said, suddenly remembering the date from a while ago.

"It wasn't really a date, but it went well. What about you and Jack?" She smirked and I blushed a little.

"Also not a date and you saw how the flyers looked." Sarah sighed.

"Yes but how did YOU two go together, not just the drawing." She said, exasperated.

"We had fun- not that way, so just shut up- we had a cool hangout." I corrected myself when I saw her raise her eyebrows suggestively. She laughed and we walked down the street.

~~~Ig you can call it a time skip it only skips like 15 mins~~~

When we arrived at school, the rest of the gang was there, chatting excitedly. Everyone except Jack. I don't know how but he looked more remorseful than yesterday.

"Jack?" I whispered while sitting down. His head snapped towards me. "You don't look okay," I said, making sure it was not a question this time. He just sighed and shook his head.

"Please just leave it," I sighed but nodded, instead listening to the conversation.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

Finally! I thought as I gathered my bags. The bell for last period had just rung, and I started making my way to the auditorium. Crutchie, Finch, and Romeo were in class with me, and we were all talking in a excited huddle. When we got in, the room was full of people. We made our way to where the Newspaper Club was hanging out. They were near the stage, because we were the ones to start it and would be the ones to talk about it. When we got there, I noticed how pale Jack looked. He looked sad, but also wore a "don't talk to me" face. I sighed and turned to Crutchie instead.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Ready as ever."


	42. The Rally

TW: Betrayal.

Jack POV  
This is it. I looked around at the gang. They were all so excited. It just made me feel so much worse. I had gotten all of these people here, different clubs and sports, just to let them down. I was pulled away from my thoughts when I heard a familiar voice.

"Welcome to my theatre, and your revolution!" Medda yelled out, which was greeted with cheers and claps. Davey walked over to me.

"Do you want to speak first or me?" He whispered.

"Can you?" I asked, and he nodded. He hopped up onto the stage and waved to everyone.

"Welcome clubs and sports! We all know why we are here. The unjust rules. Some of you might not be affected by them as much as some other clubs, but that doesn't mean it's fair." Davey started. This was met with some murmured agreements. "Pulitzer thinks we are just students. Just teenagers. Just kids. That we can't and won't do anything to stop him. But we are stronger than that, and we can stop these rules."

This was when I built up the courage. I signaled to Davey that I was going to come on stage with him. He nodded in response, and I walked up the steps and onto stage.

"If we want to be listened to, we have to act like it." I said. Davey smirked a little.

"And here is Jack everyone!" He called out. I smirked as well and turned to the crowd, dread built inside of me about what I was going to say.

"Pulitzer. He adds unfair rules without even a thought to us kids." I started. "And we strike, or rally whatever. We make him give it up and take away the rules. And it works... for about a week. Then he can just put them up again! We don't want to be doing this ever week on and off do we?!" I noticed both Crutchie and Davey giving me confused looks. "So, I have talked to Pulitzer myself. He said that if we end it now he won't up the taxes!" This was met with boo's and hissing. People started yelling as I said the next thing. "He gave me his word, and I say we take it!" People started standing up and making their way to the doors at the back of the auditorium.

"Jack Kelly, good job. You did your work well." I heard a voice sneer. I turned and saw Pulitzer, and I knew everyone else did to.

"Traitor!"  
"Sellout!"  
"We believe you Jack!" People yelled at me. But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was the gang. They were all staring at me in disbelief and anger, none of them speaking. Spot finally glared daggers at me.

"So much of a leader you were." He snarled and turned on his heel towards the door. Soon, the rest of the gang followed until it was only me, Davey, and Crutchie.

"Guys I-"

"No." Crutchie cut me off angrily. "No don't explain why you just betrayed us! Don't explain why you made us believe in you for NOTHING!" I desperately wanted to help him, the pain in his voice seeping through. He turned and hobbled out of the doors.

"Thanks." Davey finally said. I gave him a confused look. "Thanks for giving us hope, then just taking it away. Thanks for leaving the gang members in pieces after that betrayal." The way he spat the word 'betrayal' made me flinch. It was a betrayal. Davey shoved past me and out the doors.

"You're walking home." Medda said before leaving, and I sighed knowing it was fair. I grabbed my backpack and hoisted it onto my shoulders. I left the back door, so nobody would be near me. I made my way home slowly, my mind spinning. It settled on one thought suddenly. Race. The person I betrayed and lived with. He is going to give me the cold shoulder, maybe worse. He was my brother. And I screwed it up. When I got home I went straight to my room, my head in my hands.

Stupid. Awful. Horrible friend. Betrayal. Betrayal. Betrayal. These words kept spinning around my head endlessly. I checked my phone. No notifications. Nobody texted the gang group chat, and they normally would. All because of me. What have I done?


	43. Explanation

TW:

Nobody POV  
LesbianOfDoom created a group chat

LesbianOfDoom: ... what just happened?

LittleBrother1: I dont know

LittleBrother2: Jack just betrayed us! Thats what happened!

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: but why!?

BetsAndRaces: i have no idea

Davey: Wouldn't he have a reason?

Finch: i dont really care if he has a reason

KingOfBrooklyn: yeah, what he did was really ... not nice

BetsAndRaces: Nice save

KingOfBrooklyn: shut it

WarbyParker: But he had to have a reason

FlirtingMenace: but even if he had an amazing reason why would he do it?

Davey: I don't know

LesbianOfDoom: neither do i

LesbianOfDemise: we will probably find out soon. Lets just hope its a good excuse.

Davey POV  
It feels like I've been torn in two. On one hand, I want to know Jack's reason. I know he wouldn't just betray us. But on the other, I don't want to even talk to him. Why should I?! He betrayed me. He betrayed the gang. All because of Pulitzer. And we had worked so hard. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"You still thinking about it?" Sarah asked. We were both just hanging out in her room.

"Yeah," I sighed. I sat up. "I know he wouldn't betray us without a reason. But I don't want to hear his reason! Gosh its just so conflicting." I groaned, laying back down. Sarah chuckled a little bit.

"You have it harder. With your crush and all," She teased. I threw a pillow at her and heard a muffled curse. "Throw pillows at me all you want, its not going to change the fact that you have a crush." As she said that, my phone chimed.

"Jack?!" I said aloud. He had texted me.

"What did he say?" Sarah asked.

"He texted me a Crutchie and told us to meet him at the picnic table by school tonight if we want answers." I responded to her. She frowned.

"What are you thinking?" She asked. I chewed on my lip a little bit.

"I think I'm going to go. It may be our only time to get answers." I said. I picked up my phone and texted back.

Davey: What time?

JackBeNimble: 9:45, if you can

Davey: Got it.

I showed Sarah the texts and she nodded her approval. I checked the time and slipped on a sweatshirt. I walked out of my room and to the front door.

"And where are you going?" I heard my mom ask. I turned around to look at her.

"I'm going to see a friend. It's important." I added after she gave me a 'really?' look. "I promise to be back by 10:30, okay?" With this she nodded. I slipped out of the door and padded silently through the hallway of our apartment complex. I walked outside onto the quiet streets. It wasn't too dark yet, but in about an hour it would be. I started walking towards the school.

I got there sooner than I expected. When I got near it, I suddenly heard someone walking near me. I suddenly spinned around and was met with Crutchie.

"Oh my god, you scared me!" I exclaimed, to which he just laughed. I laughed with him. My laugh hitched a little when I saw his eye, and I know he noticed.

"It's fine. I just fell a little while ago," he explained with a shrug. I didn't trust what he had said, but didn't push. We started walking to the school together.

"There he is," I muttered and shook my head towards where Jack was sitting. Crutchie sighed.

"Let's see what his excuse it," He mumbled and started forward. Jack must have heard him, because his head snapped up. A small smile appeared on his face when we made our way over. We both sat down, and there was a moment of awkward silence between us.

"So." I finally said.

"Why did you do it?" Crutchie asked after, as if he needed someone else to say something first. Jack sighed and looked at the table. "Why did you bash all of our hope of changing these stupid rules?" Crutchie's voice sounded impossibly small, and I knew Jack must be breaking apart hearing this. Jack took a deep breath.

"It might take a little bit of an explanation."


	44. Explanation (Pt.2)

TW:

Jack POV  
"It started a few days ago." I started. "I was called to Pulitzer's office, you can ask Finch and Specs they were in my class when it happened. When I went in, he started talking about a stupid deal. He told me to talk against the strike at the rally. At first, I immediately said no. Then he had this stupid sneer on his face. He told me if I didn't then... then...." I took a small breath. "Then he would expel all of you. I knew that couldn't happen. Medda couldn't figure out what to do with Race and I, Davey your family wouldn't be doing to hot, Romeo and Spot would both be in a tough position, it just wouldn't work. I couldn't do it. I couldn't let you all get expelled. He gave me a day to think about it, and I did. In the end, I agreed. I said I would speak against the strike to save you all. And then the days leading up to the rally I felt so horrible. One of the only things I could think about is how I was going to betray you all. But I did it. And... you know what happened after the rally." I finished. Crutchie and Davey both just looked at me, occasionally looking back at each other. Crutchie was the first one to speak after that.

"Jack, you didn't have to take it. We would have survived and helped each other," I chuckled a little at his statement.

"I knew you would say that Crutch, but we both know it wouldn't work out. The only other high schools near here are private and very expensive." Crutchie sighed and nodded in agreement. The next three words out of his mouth, were three I was majorly surprised at.

"I forgive you." Crutchie said while looking up at me.

"I do too," Davey added. "You had a valid reason. And now I know you didn't just do it for yourself." I smiled, the frowned again.

"How do we tell the gang?" I asked.

"Simple, text." Crutchie said with a shrugged and nodded for me to pull out my phone. I did shakily and opened the group chat. I typed up an entire essay it felt like, re-explaining all that had happened. I looked up at them, and they both nodded. I clicked send. Now we wait. I felt my phone chime and saw Davey and Crutchie do so as well. I hurriedly checked my phone.

LesbianOfDoom: I knew you couldn't have done it for yourself

LittleBrother2: same, and im glad you didnt

KingOfBrooklyn: im still mad but also glad you have a valid reason

BetsAndRaces: you are my brother i cant not forgive you

Finch: im glad we have the old kelly back

WarbyParker: I am as well

FlirtingMenace: same here bro

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: i think i speak for us all when i say you are forgiven

LesbianOfDemise: ^very true

JackBeNimble: thanks you guys now tomorrow we need to start planning something else to put a REAL end to this

I turned my phone off and looked back up. I launched myself over the table and collected both of them in a hug.

"Thank you both so much!" I said. Crutchie and Davey both hugged back. We pulled away and smiled. Davey checked the time and frowned.

"I'd better go, my parents want me home soon."

"Yeah same," Crutchie added. I nodded and hot up with them. We all walked away from the dimly lit school and towards our homes. We split off, Crutchie going one way and Davey and I going the other. I was still smiling while we walked away.

"Thanks again." I told Davey, who just shrugged it off.

"I forgive anyone if they had a good reason, especially my cr- best friend. We are best friends right?" He asked, cutting himself off at one point. I raised an eyebrow suspiciously at what he had stopped himself from saying, but didn't push. I knew that would not work out well.

"Yeah, I'm glad for that." I said, then stopped. "I turn here, so see you tomorrow?"

"See you," Davey responded with a smile and walked away. I was happy now, knowing we were going to come up with a way to stop Pulitzer.


	45. New Idea

TW: Bruises

Crutchie POV  
When Davey and Jack turned a different way, I let the smile leave my face. I know Davey had noticed the black eye, but it was dark enough that Jack hadn't. Should I tell someone? I thought for the thousandth time that day. I had been debating with myself this whole time about whether I should tell someone. I hadn't wanted to for a long time, mostly because I didn't want any more pity than I already got. But the pros seemed to outweigh the cons. Then I will tell someone. But who? Both Jack and Spot would go and fight my dad, and Elmer probably would too. Actually everyone in the gang except Davey probably would. Davey would think it through and not fight him. I don't really WANT anyone to fight anyone. I will tell Davey then, and after that we can figure it out. I decided.

By then I was outside of my apartment complex. I sighed and opened the door, making my way to the elevator and then to my apartment door. I walked in quickly and quietly, happy to see my dad passed out on the couch. I snuck past the living room and went into my room. There I pulled out my phone.

LittleBrother1: Hey Davey

Davey: Hey Crutch

Davey: What do you need?

LittleBrother1: can i tell you something tomorrow in private, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else until im ready?

Davey: Yeah, we can talk on the way to first period, okay?

LittleBrother1: okay, thanks!

With a smile I turned my phone off again. I quickly got ready to go to sleep. I played on my phone for a while before actually falling asleep.

Davey POV  
Once I turned off my phone I bit my cheek a little nervously. What did he want to tell me? I wondered. Shaking it off I let my mind rest and fell asleep.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

I got out of my moms car and said goodbye, making my way to our table. The rest of the gang was there, except for Sarah and I. When I sat down a few people nodded to me, but the others looked deep in a conversation.

"What are they talking about?" I asked Jack.

"We are brainstorming how to stop the rules for good," Jack explained while leaning over to me. I nodded and focused on the conversation.

"We could all skip school, and get the rest of the clubs to do so!" Race suggested.

"First we need to get the rest of the clubs back on board with us," Spot pointed out.

"Yeah, again I'm sorry about that." Jack said while awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

"It's fine, you had a reason." Crutchie waved it off.

"Well what else can we do?!" Romeo said exasperatedly.

"We could try a sit in," Specs suggested.

"We couldn't do that, none of us would last." Albert argued.

"What if we did something with newspapers," Katherine said. "We are in the Newspaper Club."

"Yeah, what if we did a article, or a banner of sorts against it." Sarah added.

"We could hand it out to everyone and ask them to join us in the yard starting in first period and staying however long it takes," Finch agreed.

"We could have Jack tell Pulitzer as well!" I added. "This could work!"

"Oh! I know what we could name it, like the headline!" Elmer said. "I read about a Newsboy Strike in 1899, so we could call it 'The Newsies Banner'." We all nodded in agreement.

"I think we have a plan." Jack said with a smile. The bell rang then and we got up, everyone excited to keep working on this. I waited a little until it was only Crutchie, Jack, Elmer, and I.

"You too go ahead, I want to talk to Davey about something," Crutchie said, and Jack and Elmer nodded. Once they were ahead we started walking.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"So promise you won't tell anyone else and that you won't freak out." Crutchie started. I nodded.

"Of course,"

"So this is about why I come to school and other places with bruises and such..."


	46. The Truth

TW: Little Talk Of Alcohol and Drinking, Little Talk Of Injury

Davey POV  
I inhaled a little bit. From before and the phone call incident I knew what he was talking about.

"Why tell me?" I asked. "Why not tell Jack or Spot or something?" Crutchie shook his head.

"Everyone else would go fight. I don't want anyone else to get hurt." He said, looking at the ground.

"So, why is it you come to school all bruised?" I asked, eager to know what was wrong and how I could help.

"Well, I- uh." He took a deep breath. "Okay, so I have been scared to tell someone for a while. Since it started I was scared. Mostly scared that it would get worse, but I know that if I don't tell someone then it won't ever stop. So the reason is... my dad. When my mom died he started having anger management problems, and drinking problems. He would come home from work completely drunk. At first I tried to help, but it didn't work so I stopped. After a while and after my injury, he got aggressive towards me. And he would get angry at everything I did. Then he started taking it out on me, knowing if he got my crutch away I couldn't run or anything. And that's it. Its steadily grown worse over the years though." I had stopped walking and so had he. My mouth was wide open, and I was still processing what he said. Then my face contorted in anger.

"That little-"

"Please don't be mad or go to him or fight him or anything!" Crutchie said, putting his hands up to try and calm me down. "If you do you will only get hurt." I pushed my anger down and nodded.

"But why haven't you told anyone? We could get you away from that place," I said as we started walking again.

"I was scared he would find out, and make it worse. That he would hurt me so bad I wouldn't... make it," Crutchie's voice sounded incredibly small, and he was looking down. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, I'm glad you told me. Now what can I do to help?" I asked. Crutchie looked back up at me.

"I need you to tell Jack,"

"What?! Why me?"

"You two are close and he likes you a lot, and I know you would be better at calming him down." Crutchie added on the last part hastily. I sighed.

"I don't know Crutch. You're the one dealing with it,"

"Please! I know you saying it will be better!" Crutchie pleaded. We spotted the doorway to our classroom coming closer. I groaned a little.

"Fine, but I'm only telling him. Are you sure there is no other way to help?"

"I'm sure, that is all I need." He assured. We then walked into the classroom.

Crutchie POV  
It felt like a weight was lifted off my chest. I hadn't told Davey a second reason I had never told anyone though. I didn't want to seem more weak than I already was. Like I couldn't take care of myself. I shook these thoughts away as I sat down. I saw Davey whisper something to Jack and saw Jack nodded with a slightly confused face.

"Are you okay? What did you need to tell Davey?" Elmer asked, leaning over to me.

"It's nothing. I'll tell you some other time though, promise." I said. He pouted a little. "Trust me, it's not like I'm going to break-up with you for him. He need Jack." I joked. Elmer laughed a little then turned back to the board.

Crap. I thought. I had been replaying the conversation with Davey in my head, and I finally realized what I had said. I said "after my injury". Now he knew it was caused by something. I hoped he wouldn't ask, especially not in front of the gang. Only Jack and Spot knew about it, and I wanted to keep it that way. Although I loved the gang, I felt so weak telling the story and I hated it so much.

"Okay class! Today we will be working on...." I listened to the teacher as they droned on, my thoughts lingering in the back of my mind.


	47. Telling The Secret

TW:

Jack POV  
"Meet me at the table at the start of lunch," Davey told me as he leaned over. I nodded, although confused. I was about to ask why when the teacher started talking. While they were talking, I pondered over what Davey was going to tell me. I figured it must be something with what Crutchie told him. I focused back on the lesson.

"...group project. You will work with your table to produce a rather big drawing. You will use as many math symbols from the sheet I will hand out as possible. Now, to make it more interesting, I have a prize." Anyone who wasn't listening at first was listening now. "The table with the most math symbols used gets it. If we have a tie, the rest of the class votes on whose drawing is more creative. I will give you the sheets, and once you have it you may begin." The teacher said. They walked around and handed out the papers. Our table huddled together.

"I think people would work, it would be easy to incorporate the symbols into them," Davey said, and I nodded.

"But people doing what? And whats the theme?" Elmer asked. Crutchie suddenly smiled.

"I got it! We are doing the Newsies Banner thing already, we could have newsies holding up ripped papers for the theme!" He said. We all beamed.

"Thats a great idea Crutch," I said. We started planning out where all symbols would go. Before we knew it, the bell rang and we all got up.

I made my way to my next class, and when I sat down I remembered. Davey was going to tell me the thing soon. I got a little nervous but took a breath and calmed down. It couldn't be that bad, right?

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

I walked outside of class and to the table. I had already told the gang that Davey and I would be late ("Are you finally gonna ask him out?" Asked by Race). When I got there, Davey was already sitting down. I sat next to him and tapped his shoulder lightly.

"So what did you need to tell me?" I asked.

"First you have to promise not to fight anyone." He said. I nodded. "Okay, so Crutchie told me to twll you this. Its about how he comes to school with bruises. Like why he comes with them." I stiffened at this. "It's his dad, he is abusive." Davey said simply. I felt the anger in me boil over.

"He. Does. What?"

"Jack, you promised to not fight anyone." Davey warned.

"How can I not fight his dad!?" I say angrily.

"He said himself he doesn't want you getting hurt. I don't want you to either." I finally sighed and gave in.

"Fine, but I'm still angry."

"Same, now lets go before we are missed." We walked through the halls and to the cafeteria. When we sat down Race shot me a look and I glared at him. He just laughed and went back to talking. I looked over at Crutchie, who sadly smiled at me. I sighed in response, still processing a little what Davey and said. At least now I could come up with a plan. A good one. With Medda and legal stuff, whatever that is. I would get Crutchie away from that person.

Elmer POV  
I watched as Crutchie added something to the conversation. I felt like he was keeping a secret from me, and I hated it. Part of me knew he would only keep it to protect me, but I still didn't like it. If I'm being honest, I was a tad bit jealous. Davey got to know. From the looks they shared Jack seemed to know too. But he didn't tell his own boyfriend. At the end of lunch, when everyone was cleared out, I secretly grabbed Crutchie's hand.

"You can tell me anything, you know that right?" I said. He smiled.

"I know I can. That's why you're the best boyfriend. I promised to tell you later, and I'm keeping that promise. Can you come to my house later today?" He asked. I started to shake my head, but remembered auditions were postponed until tomorrow due to... recent events. I had nothing else planned for today so I nodded. I would finally hear what was troubling that beautiful boy.


	48. The Writing Begins

TW: Little Talk of Alcohol

Crutchie POV  
I smiled at Elmer and we started walking out of the cafeteria. I would have to text my dad and tell him someone was going to come over, so he either wouldn't show up or he would just not drunk. I turned away from these thoughts and back to the present. As we entered the halls, Elmer let go of my hand. Although I missed the warmth, I knew it was probably best. Not only would the gang split in two, the school also wasn't that accepting. People had to fight tooth and claw just to get a GSA club, and even still the school is ridden with homophobes, biphobes, and transphobes.

Luckily, nobody else knew about Romeo and Specs. People also didn't know that Romeo and Finch were trans, for the teachers were accepting enough to use proper names and pronouns. I didn't know about Pulitzer, but from what Jack had said about their meeting, he probably was like the majority of the student body.

"Crutchie?" Elmer asked, tapping the top of my head. "You good? You zoned out and almost missed you class." I laughed a little.

"I'm fine, promise." I added the last part after seeing him raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, see you later," he said with a smile. I loved that smile. I smiled back before going into class. I sat down with a small sigh. This was a class I had without any of the gang. It was still fun though, because Talyn, Joan, and Thomas were in it with me.

"Hey Crutch," Joan said as they walked in. They sat down next to me, and Thomas sat down on my other side.

"Hey guys," I responded as Talyn sat next to Joan. "Whatcha up to?" I asked. Thomas shrugged.

"Nothing much, although after school we are all going to my house to film. We had a great new idea for a video, AND there is going to be a new character!" Thomas said, radiating excitement. I chuckled a little bit.

"I can't wait to see, can I get a hint of what he represents though?" I said with a smirk. Thomas glanced at Joan and Talyn, who both nodded in agreement.

"Okay, he represents creativity." Thomas said. I gaped at him, thoroughly confused. They all laughed at my expression.

"What do you mean?! Thats Roman," I said. They all laughed a little bit harder.

"I guess you will have to wait to figure it out!" Talyn said, right before the teacher started talking. I shot them a glare and focused on what the teacher was saying.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

Once third period ended, I said goodbye to Joan, Talyn, and Thomas, wishing them good luck while filming. I met up with Spot, Romeo, Specs, Albert, and Race for fourth period. We had a class called writing and research. It was a stupid class, and the only work was every week you had to turn in a written assignment that was longer than a page. It was stupid, but also fun and mostly a study hall.

"Hey guys, maybe we can work on the Newsies Banner thing during this!" Albert said suddenly. I nodded eagerly in agreement. We all grabbed our computers and made a new document. Race, Spot, and I started writing while Romeo, Albert, and Specs did things to make it look nicer like fonts. Those three were in graphic design so they knew what looked best. We also shared the document with the rest of the gang for when they wanted to get on later.

The banner started coming along nicely, and it sounded amazing. I smiled and started to re-read and edit it. I fixed a few mistakes here and there, but mostly it was perfect. What gelt like minutes went by when the bell rang. I packed up my stuff and walked out with the others. We walked out of the school and split away from each other. I stayed to the side and waited for Elmer.

"Hey," A voice said, and I jumped.

"Geeze Elm don't scare me like that!" I said indignantly while turning around. Elmer had snuck up on me. Elmer laughed a little and smiled. I couldn't stay mad at him, so I smiled as well. "Let's get going," I said and started walking. I noticed Jack out of the corner of my eye, and I knew he probably wanted to talk to me. I'll text him later. I promised myself, then focused on the path home.


	49. Mr. Morris

TW: 'F@ggot' Used as a Slurr, 'Crip' Used as a Slurr

Elmer POV  
I followed closely to Crutchie. Half because I didn't want him to fall or anything, and half because I just wanted to be near him. The walk wasn't super long, but it was a ways away.

"You walk here every morning?!" I asked incredulously. He nodded.

"Yep, annoying, but it wakes me up," he said with a shrug. I chuckled.

"I guess it would. What about the winter though? That gets super cold,"

"I tough it out." He answered simply. I didn't understand why his dad didn't drive him. Maybe he has an early work, and can't. I reasoned with myself. Soon, we got to the building I recognized as the apartment complex he lived in. We walked in and took the elevator to his floor, making our way to his apartment.

"So, what have you been keeping from me?" I asked, getting straight to the point. We had just sat down on his bed. I had also taken his hand in mine.

"Well, first promise you won't fight anyone, okay?" He asked. Although I was skeptical, I nodded. "So this is about why I sometimes come to school or other places injured, or limping more." I perked up at this, listening more intently. "It's my dad, he gets fits of rage and takes it out on... me. I don't know why I haven't told anyone this, I guess I'm just scared he will find out and get worse or something." He started rambling a little bit. I was just looking at him, eyes wide in shock. "Can you at least say something?!" He pleaded. I snapped out of it.

"Why would anyone do that to you? You're perfect, the most perfect person I know." I said. He smiled a little, then took a breath.

"There is another reason I didn't tell anyone... I just don't want to seem more weak than I already am! Like I'm just a burden to you guys," This also shocked me.

"First off, you are not a burden at all. Second, you're the strongest person ever! Who else could go through a bunch of school years with a crutch and not get fed up? Who else could take the bullying it brought at first head on? I know if it was me, I wouldn't be able to handle it, but you can because you are Crutchie. Strong. Loyal. Kind. And brave." I said. I saw tears pricking the edge of his eyes. I pulled him into a hug, and we stayed like that for a good few minutes.

"Thank you," I finally hear him mumble into my shirt.

"Thank you for telling me." I responded. "Now lets figure out how we can get you out of this place." He pulled away from the hug so I did too. He faced each other, and I knew I had a look of determination on my face. He opened his mouth to start talking, but as he did we heard the door open and close. He went pale and I could tell he was very anxious.

"You stay here," I said. "I will go and check it out, okay?" He nodded mutely, and I pressed a small kiss to his cheek. I slipped out pf his bedroom and towards the kitchen/living room area. When I entered, I saw who I assumed was Crutchie's father. He looked drunk and was stumbling around.

"Mr. Morris?" I asked. His head snapped towards me and he glared suspiciously.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice scratchy.

"I'm a friend of Charlie's," I answered. He barked out a laugh.

"You're a friend of that dumb f@ggot?!" He laughed, like it was impossible. I glared at him, and his face immediately changed. "Or, are you that crippled f@ggots boyfriend!?" He took a threatening step forward.

"I am just a friend," I lied, figuring that saying I WAS Crutchie's boyfriend would make him even angrier. He raised an eyebrow.

"Then what are ya doing here? Hm? I think you should get out, because this is my house and my rules!" His sentence didn't make much sense, but I understood it. He wanted me out now. I connected the dots as to why, and knew I wouldn't let this happen. I wouldn't go away that easily.


	50. Over

TW: Mentions of Abuse, Punching,

Crutchie POV  
When Elmer left my room I grabbed my phone. I already had seven messages from Jack.

JackBeNimble: Charlie

JackBeNimble: Why

JackBeNimble: Didn't 

JackBeNimble: You

JackBeNimble: Ever

JackBeNimble: Tell

JackBeNimble: Me

LittleBrother1: please dont fight him

JackBeNimble: i wont

JackBeNimble: ill kill him

LittleBrother1: less okay, also im sorry i never told you it was just to scary

JackBeNimble: its okay but now we need to figure out how to get you out of there

LittleBrother1: heh thats what elmer said

JackBeNimble: why is elmer with you?

LittleBrother1: hes hanging out at my house today

JackBeNimble: 🤨

LittleBrother1: hey we are just friends hanging out

Once I hit sent I started hearing Elmer and my dad. They were talking louder. Not good. I quickly got up and out of my room.

"-this is my house and my rules!" I heard the end of what my dad had said.

"Elmer!" I said walking forward quickly. Elmer turned to me with a slightly confused expression.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a whisper. I knew my dad had seen me, for he was glaring.

"Maybe you should go," I said, not answering his question.

"Are you serious?! No, I'm not leaving." He stated. I glanced around anxiously.

"Please Elm, just go for now. I'll be fine. It'll be worse if you stay." I said while pushing him slightly towards the door. Elmer grabbed my wrist lightly.

"Leave you here with the psycho, not a chance. Why do you want me to leave?!" He said. I was about to answer when my dad spoke up.

"Get out you! Now!" He barked taking a step closer. I looked at Elmer with pleading eyes, I really didn't want him to get hurt as well. Finally he started walking to the door, looking slightly defeated. Before we had fully walked put though, the face of an idea came onto his face. Then the door shut. I turned to my dad, ready to stand my ground. "Why was your boyfriend here?" He slurred.

"He isn't my boyfriend," I lied. "And because we have a important project to work on." I lied again. I started slowly and silently backing up into the hallway near my room. My dad didn't notice yet.

"Ahaha," he was just laughing. Before his wits returned, I quickly got into my room and shut the door. I went for my phone and grabbed it, seeing a few new texts.

LittleBrother2: I have an idea, just stay away from him okay?

LittleBrother1: okay

I didn't know what this plan was, but I knew it would be better than nothing. I also had some texts from Jack.

JackBeNimble: im going to beat him up

JackBeNimble: watch out and dont get hurt

JackBeNimble: medda and i are coming soon

I was slightly confused, but guessed it meant that Elmer had told Jack and Medda. I had a few minutes, so I waited.

Soon, there was a knock on our door. I got up and out of my room, going down to the edge of the hall.

"Who are you?" My dad asked who I assumed was Medda, Jack, and Elmer.

"We are here to pick up Charlie." I heard someone's voice say. I walked forward.

"I'm here," I said, walking out and towards them. The voice belonged to a middle-aged person with a clipboard that read CPS on it. I knew what it meant, and so did my dad.

"Why? What do you want with my son?" He asked, putting an arm around my shoulders. I shrugged it off angrily.

"I am NOT your son. Get away from me," I hissed. I started walked to the others at the door. I suddenly felt my dad grab my wrist. Without thinking, I turned and punched him in the face. Once I did I scrambled over to the others.

"Are you okay?" The person I didn't know asked. I nodded breathlessly, still not sure how or why I had punched him. "Was he abusing you?" They asked, getting straight to the point.

"Yes," I said, glaring at my 'dad'.

"That's all I need to know. Can you spend a few nights at a friends house?" They asked. I nodded to both questions. "Good, now lets go." They said, closing the door. I turned to the hall and was immediately gathered in a two person hug.

"Oh my gosh that was so brave of you!" I hear Elmer say.

"I'm glad you're out," Jack added.

"Me too." I said back, happy that that nightmare was finally over.

A/N: DISCLAIMER I HAVE NO IDEA HOW ABUSED KIDS ARE TAKEN AWAY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT SO IF ITS WRONG IM SORRY!! Also you may comment on this any additions to Crutchie's 'dad's punishment (go crazy)


	51. Welcome to the Club

TW:

Jack POV  
As we left the apartment complex with the social worker, I was smiling.

"I can't believe you stayed there," Elmer said, talking to Crutchie. Crutchie smiled, embarrassed, and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah..." he said. "Can we not tell the gang?" He suddenly asked. I gaped at him a little.

"Why not?! We should, they can celebrate with us!" I said. Crutchie looked down.

"I don't want them to know," he insisted.

"But why!? If they know so what? They could fight your dad as well," I joked, bumping his shoulder.

"Jack I'm serious, do not tell them." Crutchie said, his voice colder than usual.

"But-"

"Don't. Tell. The. Gang." Crutchie cut me off. I gaped at him a little and looked to Elmer for help. Elmer was glaring at me a little.

"Geeze, fine. I won't tell anyone, okay?" Crutchie nodded at this. I was still confused Why wouldn't he want to tell? He would be supported more, and the gang would know he is okay. He would also have more people to beat his dad up. I thought.

"Jack," I heard someone whisper. I looked up at saw Medda, who was beckoning me away a little.

"Yeah?" I asked. He looked at me dead in the eyes.

"Don't tell anyone okay?" She said. I rolled my eyes a little.

"Crutchie already told me that! And why? Doesn't he want more help?" Medda sighed.

"Not everyone wants their personal life and troubles broadcasted to the world. Some don't even want friends to know. It's a very personal subject, and you need to respect that no matter how much you disagree." Medda said, an intensity filled her eyes and boring into my skull.

"I promise I will," I said solemnly. Medda nodded, her smiled coming back on her face.

"Good, now go back to your friends." She said with a smile. I nodded and walked back to them.

"-ure that they will be okay with it?" I heard the tail end of Crutchie's question. Elmer nodded.

"I know they will, you can stay as long as you want." He said.

"Hey," I said as I walked up. "Whatcha talking about?"

"Oh, I'm going to stay with Elmer's family for a little." Crutchie explained. I was confused.

"Elmer's?" I asked. They both nodded. "Okay," I said, playing it off like it was normal. We then made it to our cars. Elmer and Crutchie got in with the social worker, who would take them to Elmer's house, and I got into Medda's car. Once I got in, I immediately got nervous.

"You okay?" Medda asked.

"Yeah, just the whole Newsies Banner thing." I responded. We had decided to finish and print it tomorrow, and then put it up and hand it out the next day. But this time we would also reach other schools, which had also had new rules. Spot would hand them out at the football game, Race and Romeo at the track meet, Specs at the mathletes game, and Sarah at the soccer game. It would definitely help us make sure Pulitzer stopped the rules. The main school we wanted to get it to was the Journal High, because they had the same rules that we did.

"It'll work, I promise. You have me, Mr. Denton, and many other teachers on your side." Medda assured. I nodded, the pulled out my phone.

Davey: Guysssssssssssssss

LesbianOfDoom: wut

Davey: All we need to do is edit

FlirtingMenace: YAY

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: woooohooooo

Finch: yipee

KingOfBrooklyn: finch did you just say 'yipee'

Finch: im not proud of it

BetsAndRaces: hahahhahahahahah

JackBeNimble: im excited

LittleBrother2: everyone is

WarbyParker: True

LesbianOfDemise: this is also so nerve racking tho

LittleBrother1: yeah, like what if it doesn't work and Pulitzer makes it worse or something

KingOfBrooklyn: i dont think it will

Davey: But if it does, we will handle it

JackBeNimble: agreed

LesbianOfDoom: jacks joining the club

JackBeNimble: darnit

BetsAndRaces: the club now has three members

LittleBrother2: davey katherine and the newly added jack kelly

JackBeNimble: forget i ever said that

FlirtingMenace: yeah no

Davey: Welcome to the club

I laughed as I clicked off my phone. Great, I'm never going live that down. And it will be the only time too! What great friends.


	52. Ice Skating

TW:

~~~Im lazy so this is the next day after school~~~

Davey POV  
While I was working on homework, a giant stack of papers was dropped in front of me.

"Here you go," My dad said. "All of the copies. I hope this works," He added before going to the kitchen. I texted the group chat that it was done and they were ready for tomorrow. I set my phone down and focused on my work. I finished it soon and looked around, suddenly bored. I looked around, then finally decided to talk to Sarah. I walked over to her room.

"Oh Sarah!" I yelled a little while knocking on her door. "I'm coming in!" I hear a muffled 'Fine get your butt in here' before actually walking in.

"What do you want?" She asked, turning back to her computer. I flopped on her bed.

"Bored."

"What?"

"BORED!" I repeated, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Why not text your boyfriend?" She mocked. I threw a pillow at her in protest.

"He's not my boyfriend! If he is then Kath is your girlfriend,"

"I wouldn't be mad," Sarah said, to which I laughed. Although I agreed, Jack as my boyfriend would not be horrible. It'd probably be amazing. But he would never like me, so why even hope, right?

"Do you wanna do something?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbows. Sarah sighed and turned off her computer. She spun around in her office chair.

"Sure. What do you wanna do?" She asked. I responded with a small shrug.

"Maybe we could get the gang over, like all go some place." I recommended.

"Oh yeah, I saw an indoor ice skating rink open. Maybe we could go there for an hour or two. It would help relax our nerves about tomorrow I bet." She added. I smiled.

"I'll text the gang," I pulled out my phone and started texting.

Davey: Hey, do you guys want to go to the indoor ice rink today?

JackBeNimble: sure

LittleBrother1: im down, although i just want to watch

AlbertoWithoutAShirto: that sounds cool

Finch: yeha

KingOfBrooklyn: where?

I sent them the link to the place and we agreed to meet up there in an hour.

"What should we wear?" I asked.

"Not something too heavy, we would get too hot, but a light jacket would probably work." Sarah responded, getting up and moving to her closet. She shuffled around the unorganized mess for a few seconds, before pulling out a denim jacket and tossing it to me. "Try that," I sighed and put it on.

"So?" I asked, showing her.

"Ooo, Jack would love it." She teased, which I gave her a deadpanned look. "Anyways, you actually look really good in it! What do you think of this?" She said, holding up a jacket for her. It was an all black jacket, with a small lesbian flag on the pocket.

"Perfect amount of gayness," I replied with a smirk.

"Awesome." She said and shrugged it on. She checked her phone. "We should probably get going, the rink is a little far away. Also I call driving!" I nodded them rolled my eyes slightly. We walked outside and told our mom where we would be, and Sarah grabbed the keys. We hopped into the car and started blasting songs from musicals on our drive there. Once there we walked inside and waited for the others to come. Once everyone was in, we got our shoes (except Crutchie). We walked over to the benches near the rink, slipping our shoes on and off.

"This is gonna be COOL," Race said with a smirk.

"That was a dICEY pun," Albert added on.

"I will kill you both in COLD blood if you keep that up," Spot threatened. Everyone laughed and soon stepped onto the ice. It was a lot more slippery than I remembered, but I soon got the hang of it.

Race, Albert, and Romeo were racing each other around the rink while Specs and Finch timed them. Spot was helping Katherine and Sarah, who for the life of them couldn't find their footing. Elmer was skating around, although staying near where Crutchie was sitting. Finally, Jack was just skating around aimlessly. I sped up and joined him.


	53. The Newsies Banner

TW:

Jack POV  
I woke up with a start, immediately getting ready for school. Today was the day we were handing out the Newsies Banner, and I was scared. I had to go talk to Pulitzer about it. Being the appointed 'leader' gave me this job. Yay.

From asking some other people, they said that the clubs would join the strike, so that eased my nerves a little. We had even asked a few local news stations about it, and one even said they might cover it. It was exciting knowing our strike got so much tread.

"Hey Cowboy, ya ready?" Race asked as I stepped outside of my room. I shrugged.

"I guess," I said. We both ate breakfast then told Medda goodbye. We walked to school and sat down at the normal picnic table, waiting. A few of the gang was already there, but they were mostly talking amongst themselves. I was just thinking and imagining scenarios. I was jolted into reality by Davey and Sarah slamming a stack of papers onto the table.

"Here you guys go." Davey said with a proud smile. "Take as many as you want." People grabbed a random amount of papers and started reading it over.

"I didn't realize how good this was," Romeo joked. Everyone murmured in agreement. After a few minutes of reading, Katherine spoke up.

"20 minutes until first period. Let's go start handing them out." We all nodded, said a quick goodbye, then got up and left. I walked around the courtyard to where groups of people were hanging out.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt." I said as I approached a groups of kids all holding skateboards. "We are having a protest against the rules today, basically sitting in the courtyard starting in first period and ending once Pulitzer repeals the rules." I explained, handing them the flyer. "I hope you all join us." I got a few nods from them before leaving to got to another group.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

It is finally time. I got a small déjà vu moment to the rally, but pushed it away. I wasn't going to betray anyone this time.

"Ready?" Crutchie asked, and everyone nodded. The bell rang, but none of us moved. I had my eyes closed, scared to open them and see it was only us. I felt someone tap my shoulder, and opened one eye to see Albert.

"Dude, look." He said in awe. I opened my eyes fully and turned around. Nobody in the courtyard had moved, in fact more people from the school were walking out into the courtyard.

"It's working." Specs said breathlessly. A smiled spread across my face (like butter lol) as I looked around. Almost the entire school was here. Some teachers were yelling at the students, but most were just smiling and watching.

"Your turn Jack," Sarah said.

"Yeah, go tell Pulitzer." Elmer added. I nodded and got up.

"Hey, take this." Spot said and handed me a flyer. I walked, and a small path opened in front of me. I soon got to the school doors and walked in. It was weird with the halls being so quiet, but I pushed those thoughts away. I had to focus. I walked into the office and saw Hannah looking out the window with a smile.

"I'm here to see Pulitzer." I told her.

"He's ready. Oh also, great job." She said with a smile. I smiled back and walked into Pulitzers office. All of his phones were ringing and he was frantically trying to answer them all.

"You." He said when he finally noticed me. I waved a little. "You did this!"

"Actually, me and the gang did." I said, slapping the flyer on his desk.

"I thought we had a deal." He hissed angrily.

"Never really shook on it." I countered. He glowered at me.

"So what do you want, huh?"

"The club and sport rules repealed." I answered quickly and confidently. He raised and eyebrow the sighed, rubbing his face a little.

"Those rules help-" He started, but I immediately cut him off.

"They do not. That's why we want to repeal them. And that is why those kids will sot out there all day until you undo it. So what's your next move, huh?"


	54. We Won

TW:

Davey POV  
I nervously bit my fingernails.

"Is it taking to long? What if Pulitzer tried to convince him again. Or the Delancy's got to him! What if he really didn't care about us, and this was all a big trick. What if he was only our friend out of pity or a dare?" Crutchie fretted, looking around wildly. Jack had told me that Crutchie had minor separation anxiety, but I hadn't seen it in action before now.

The courtyard was filled with talking, many people just chatting with each other while they waited. Our group was left alone, and we were talking amongst ourselves. Romeo, Specs, Albert, Finch, and Race were all playing some sort of card game. Katherine and Sarah were talking about some weird things. And finally, Crutchie was freaking out and Spot and Elmer were trying to calm him down. I was having worries of my own, but not as bad.

I did take this time to think about something that had been on my mind for a while. Jack. More specifically telling him that I liked him. I know it would probably end up bad and he wouldn't like me back, but I also feel like he would make sure we weren't awkward around each other. I guess after this it would be a good time to do it. You know, it would actually be kinda romantic. Right after we won or lost the strike and suddenly a love confession. I thought.

I looked over at the doors, then noticed them open a little. Everyone suddenly went silent, as Jack and Pulitzer stepped out. We all held our breaths expectantly.

"We won!" Jack shouted, and the entire crowd erupted into cheers. Everyone was so happy, even people who weren't in clubs. I checked the time, and we would have just ended second period by now. Took long enough, I thought with a chuckled. It finally sunk in though. We won. No more unfair rules AND we stood our ground.

"Alright! It is lunch now! The third period bell will ring at the same time as always so be ready!" Medda yelled out over the crowd, which elicited a few boos and groans. Jack started to make his way back to our group.

"Nice job Jack," Spot said.

"Yeah," Race agreed.

"You convinced him, didn't know that was possible," Finch joked which made Albert laugh.

"Yeah, he finally came to his senses." Jack laughed. Everyone was so happy now. I pulled Jack aside a little bit.

"Can we talk after school?" I asked. He looked slightly worried, but nodded. The look was wiped off his face when Romeo grabbed him and pulled him back towards the gang. Now you just have to build up the courage to actually tell him. I thought glumly.

Jack POV  
Romeo pulled me back into the group.

"What did he want? A date?" Race asked and everyone laughed. I glared.

"No, it was just... something." I said.

"Sureeeee," Romeo said with a wink. I shoved his shoulder roughly. We then ate lunch and the bell rang. It felt weird going to class, even though we had only skipped two classes.

It also felt sad, like we were ending a chapter in life. We would probably never be able to get the school together like that again, but we had done it at least once. Our group would stick together, and everything would go back to normal... hopefully.

Crutchie POV  
I smiled at Elmer as we walked through the halls.

"It's finally over, and auditions are in a few days." Elmer said. His face suddenly changed. "Oh no. Auditions are in a few days. I need to practice!" He said. I laughed a little.

"You're amazing at singing, I'd be surprised if they didn't have you." I assured him. He nodded and we walked into class.

~~~Time of the Skips~~~

After walking out of fourth period, I made my way to a picinic table where most of the gang was. The day had felt weird, and it felt like we had nothing to do anymore. We used to plan and now we just... talked. I smiled as I sat down. This was coming to a nice end, and although I knew we would have troubles later, it felt very calm. It was a good end to a good chapter in our lives.

A/N: i know not everyone with separation anxiety is like that but i am basing it off of what i have experienced. Also yes, im ending this BUT i might make a second book (i probably will)


End file.
